Starmer gives £84 Million to Africa and Middle East

Heatstroke?

Casdon, governments have been dishing out foreign aid for years. What Starmer has announced is nothing new. It hasn’t stopped people trying to get here by whatever means they can, nor will it.

I am au fait with the facts Germanshepherdsmum.

The number who attempt to cross to the UK on small boats in their sad, desperate attempts to get away from their country of origin - at any cost after having paid everything they’ve got to some dispicables…
well they are a fraction of the total number who enter illegally.

There are others while just as keen to get here that manage to obtain false documentation and are successful in there attempts, perhaps they are more likely to be lone travelers, perhaps slightly better off, perhaps cleverer, perhaps more criminally minded.
They haven’t risked death by drowning. They don’t make the morning news. They disappear

LizzieDrip

Heaven forbid that we may have a PM who is a human rights lawyer AND a do-gooder😱 There’s no hope for us is there

No there isn't. Not when the money will fill corrupt Governments pockets.

Granmarderby10

The number who attempt to cross to the UK on small boats in their sad, desperate attempts to get away from their country of origin - at any cost after having paid everything they’ve got to some dispicables…
well they are a fraction of the total number who enter illegally.

There are others while just as keen to get here that manage to obtain false documentation and are successful in there attempts, perhaps they are more likely to be lone travelers, perhaps slightly better off, perhaps cleverer, perhaps more criminally minded.
They haven’t risked death by drowning. They don’t make the morning news. They disappear

What evidence is there?

LizzieDrip

Heaven forbid that we may have a PM who is a human rights lawyer AND a do-gooder😱 There’s no hope for us is there

Indeed, we’re all doomed

Why keep handing aid out when it’s never going to used for what it was intended for.

Overseas aid budgets support a huge range of NGOs/charities operating in developing countries. They provide all sorts of medical aid, education, employment training, clean water, food aid etc they employ local people as much as possible but are managed by the agencies and monitored externally. The Conservatives cut the OA budget from 0.7% to 0.5% and then squandered huge amounts on ridiculous schemes like Rwanda which was a questionable project from day 1. All civilised developed countries recognise the value of helping people in poor countries to live better lives not only because it is morally correct but also it discourages migration.

.... Veterans on the streets, people unable to get GP appointments and disabled people pooing in bags, etc etc.

So what did the Tories do about these situations? Did they set up the destruction of social care, the NHS, infrastructure collapse to give a Labour government something to do?

The country is in the state it's in DIRECTLY BECAUSE of 14 years of profligste, self serving, incompetent half wits from posh schools siphoning off public money to their mates and generating rhetoric that people in need are spongers and whingers who need to be forced into work through benefit cuts.

Funny how the gutter press aren't running that story.

Yes a lot of veterans on the streets here on the south coast. It's absolutely disgusting that we can't or won't look after these poor people...

I don't think it's right that, in a civilised society, anyone is on the streets. Bravermann, when she was Home secretary, described it as a "lifestyle choice", such a cruel attitude, IMO no one makes a rational lifestyle choice to sleep on the streets.

charity begins at home, we have people sleeping rough, families in b and bs, a failing NHS, not fit for purpose road and rail system, sorry but our country needs money to right our wrongs

84 MILLION will buy lots of bigger boats for them to come here in

foxie48

I don't think it's right that, in a civilised society, anyone is on the streets. Bravermann, when she was Home secretary, described it as a "lifestyle choice", such a cruel attitude, IMO no one makes a rational lifestyle choice to sleep on the streets.

Maybe not a rational choice but a choice nevertheless. Some choose to stay on the streets, even when offered help they don't want it. You cannot force someone to accept help. But the ex servicemen should be a priority when it comes to homes and jobs. There should be a system in place to follow their progress and ensure they are not abandoned.

Chestnut there are plenty of agencies along with charities and the armed forces welfare offices/officers which are helping the U.K. veterans.

Unfortunately some do shun any help, it’s been explained to me that in some cases people do not reach out for help until they are at rock bottom

Drugs alcohol and mental health plays an enormous part in the majority of U.K. homelessness, many shelters and temporary accommodation will not allow alcohol and definitely no drug taking. Hence some would rather carry on with their addictions even if it means living in the streets.

"Drugs alcohol and mental health plays an enormous part in the majority of U.K. homelessness, many shelters and temporary accommodation will not allow alcohol and definitely no drug taking. Hence some would rather carry on with their addictions even if it means living in the streets."

I wouldn't describe that as a lifestyle choice though, addiction takes away people's ability to make rational choices, alcohol and drugs are frequently used to self medicate serious mental health illnesses. I think it's a more accurate description to say that addiction to alcohol and /or drugs prevents some homeless people from benefiting from charities set up to help them. That said, there is still a lack of suitable houses for people living on our streets.

I agree Foxie48 but If I was homeless I'd certainly want something to mitigate the awful humiliation and physical suffering these people have.to endure . and it's not easy to distinguish which illness came first... addiction/ MH problems or homelessness... there should certainly be more services and housing available.. I speak as someone who used to be a CPN.. and who has watched in despair huge financial cuts to the MHS and closure of most day hospitals..

In addition to the good points from gg13, foxie 48 and pascal30 there are dogs. Many homeless beggars have a dog with them. Few shelters for good reason will accept dogs.
The devastation of mental health and substance misuse services has contributed to growing addiction, homelessness and the physical and mental health problems that go hand in hand
Add the bedroom tax into the mix and disaster is inevitable

Very little aid gets to the people who need it, any cash goes into the pockets of corrupt politicians and officials, add a good measure of inefficiency, it’s gone.
The Chinese build all the infrastructure projects these days and get access to whatever they want, the one thing you don’t give to Africa is cash.

There are about 40 million adults in the UK right?

That's 2 quid each

In today's economy that's about 3 loo rolls

Sadly, 84 million buys a lot of weapons to continue corruption.

I want to see how the money is targeted and spent before jumping in. Yes I agree re past projects.

Good point, Wyllow3. I will try to be optimistic and wait to see how this money improves lives.

FGS overseas aid does not go into the pockets of govts, the bulk of it funds charities like MSF, Save the Children, Sightsavers, etc etc. It provides clean water, education, training for women so they can support their families. My niece has worked in the overseas charity sector for well over twenty years, one of her roles is to put together bids to fund the work they do. When the Conservatives reduced the spend on OA in 2020, it meant a cut in the services that the charity she currently works for and she was scrabbling round trying to fill the gap in funding by accessing OA from other countries. Her charity is focused on the health of children not a bomb or a gun is purchased!