Foreign Aid Budget

[Stayingup]

With crime rampant on the streets of the UK and a lack of police numbers to counter it, it must be time to look at the Foreign Aid Budget and our priorities with Tax Payers money. Last year a full 14.1 billion was handed over to other countries in Foreign Aid whilst Home Office budget was 13.1 billion. England and Wales has fewer officers per capita than Greece, Italy and Spain (and Scotland), so to gift so much of our Tax payers money overseas is a ridiculous scandal. Since 2010 we have spent 89 billion on Foreign Aid. It is written into law by an act compelling us to give 0.7% of our GDP in Aid. This act was passed under Cameron’s watch and is another of his disasters like HS2 and one could say the Referendum.
Aid is a good thing in the right circumstances. For humanitarian reasons and to boost British Trade, but to set out a figure each year and not know where it is going to go to is idiocy. But what can be done about it? We have possibly the worst set of childish, self- centred, greedy, dull and talentless bunch of MP’s probably ever in British parliamentary history. Just look at the leaders of the parties. The three stooges would have made a better fist of the jobs than this lot. They will not vote to change law on Foreign Aid for sure, as they are all so, so virtuous. But I am going to badger my MP relentlessly about this.

[Tricky Trevor]

Don’t disagree with giving foreign aid but there needs to be more oversight into its use. Giving money to India, who have nuclear power, is beyond belief.

[Falcon]

Getting massive corporations to actually pay tax would be a nice way of raising money orders of magnitude more than saving a bit of foreign aid cash.

[Vino blanco]

Those naughty, naughty Tories, they can't get anything right, can they? Personally, I would stop all foreign aid and spend it on the problem areas in the Uk.

[claretonthecoast1882]

I wonder what ****head david lammy's view is on foreign aid.

[Lancasterclaret]

Only thing smaller than the foriegn aid budget is the EU contribution.

[Quickenthetempo]

Foreign aid is just bribes to other dodgy governments.

[Imploding Turtle]

Only thing smaller than the foriegn aid budget is the EU contribution.

Both include foreigners though.

[SGr]

Foreign aid is just bribes to other dodgy governments.

Yep. Foreign “aid” is never just that. There are conditions attached with regard to what it is spent on, which will relate to Britain’s interests.

You just don’t get to be one of the world’s biggest economies by giving things away for free.

[Jakubclaret]

I’d scrap foreign aid I wouldn’t send a single penny, instead I’d look at where the money is going & I’d send specialist task forces to the countries to evaluate what the problems are & work from there at fixing things.

[TVC15]

I’d scrap foreign aid I wouldn’t send a single penny, instead I’d look at where the money is going & I’d send specialist task forces to the countries to evaluate what the problems are & work from there at fixing things.

There’s a surprise

[Devils_Advocate]

I’d scrap foreign aid I wouldn’t send a single penny, instead I’d look at where the money is going & I’d send specialist task forces to the countries to evaluate what the problems are & work from there at fixing things.

You'd probably spend more money on your little task force than what we'd actually spend on foreign aid itself

[Devils_Advocate]

Looking at Lancaster's graph why don't we just get rid off all the British folk on benefits and replace them with hard working Eastern Europeans. We'd save miles more money cutting welfare than we would cutting Foreign Aid

[Jakubclaret]

You'd probably spend more money on your little task force than what we'd actually spend on foreign aid itself

It would be a budgeted sum allocated, I don’t think foreign aid is spent on the needy well not all of it, I think the money gets syphoned off to where it’s not supposed to go. Don’t ask me why I think that I just do.

[Jakubclaret]

Looking at Lancaster's graph why don't we just get rid off all the British folk on benefits and replace them with hard working Eastern Europeans. We'd save miles more money cutting welfare than we would cutting Foreign Aid

How would you propose to do that?

[Stayingup]

Yep. Foreign “aid” is never just that. There are conditions attached with regard to what it is spent on, which will relate to Britain’s interests.

You just don’t get to be one of the world’s biggest economies by giving things away for free.

I think.that is not strictly true. Sure aid can help to promote British undustry (whats left of it) as I have used it in the past. But here the issue is a fixed and very large sum.

Would anyone donate almost 1% of their income not knowing where its goi g to go? The Department for International Development - which should probably be scrapped or integrated into the Foreign Office - is octen lect searching round where to send the fund wbich is ridiculous.

[TVC15]

It would be a budgeted sum allocated, I don’t think foreign aid is spent on the needy well not all of it, I think the money gets syphoned off to where it’s not supposed to go. Don’t ask me why I think that I just do.

We won’t ask you then....we know why “you just do”

[Stayingup]

Those naughty, naughty Tories, they can't get anything right, can they? Personally, I would stop all foreign aid and spend it on the problem areas in the Uk.

Personally I wouldnt describe Cameron as a Tory
A Blairite disciple more like.

[Vino blanco]

Stop there, Stayingup, you are making it political.

[Stayingup]

Only thing smaller than the foriegn aid budget is the EU contribution.

So why is this relevant?

Cancelling both would enable us to invest more at home where charity is supposed to begin

[Stayingup]

Looking at Lancaster's graph why don't we just get rid off all the British folk on benefits and replace them with hard working Eastern Europeans. We'd save miles more money cutting welfare than we would cutting Foreign Aid

Now now. You can't cut Welfare entirely.

[Imploding Turtle]

So why is this relevant?

Cancelling both would enable us to invest more at home where charity is supposed to begin

Because, and i know this is tough for you types to understand, from our point of view it's not aid, it's investment. *cue dramatic music*

We get more back then we give out. I don't expect you to understand that because even when it was shown to you with facts and figures you still supported Leave because of "£350m every week bad" etc.

The funny thing is though that on Foreign Aid we could be allies if you wanted to reform it instead of scrapping it, but no.

[Jakubclaret]

Now now. You can't cut Welfare entirely.

You could but you’d end up spending it tackling crime & treating poorly people with the nhs.

[Imploding Turtle]

Also, and a not insignificant point, is the fact that if we did get rid of those two the same people ginning up anger over them will just start ginning up anger over environmental and cultural spending. Anything to keep the masses attention off the fact that it's them and their tax avoidance that is ******* up our revenue.

You're being played.

[Stayingup]

Because, and i know this is tough for you types to understand, from our point of view it's not aid, it's investment. *cue dramatic music*

We get more back then we give out. I don't expect you to understand that because even when it was shown to you with facts and figures you still supported Leave because of "£350m every week bad" etc.

The funny thing is though that on Foreign Aid we could be allies if you wanted to reform it instead of scrapping it, but no.

Who has mentioned scrapping it? Which type said that?

We get more back than we give out? You sir are a very deluded and uniformed person. Prove what you said
You cant its rubbish what you have said. Maybe that applies to your type eh?

[Imploding Turtle]

The funny thing is that with Foreign Aid spending in particular, the right and the left could both have what they want. If we reformed the foreign aid budget to not be an investment in British corporation and instead an investment in foreign communities us bleeding heat lefties can get what we want by helping poor people in other countries, and the right can get what they want by reducing immigration and anti-British sentiment which in turn reduces things like terrorism.

But no. That's too much like losing for the right to accept. And the Conservatives would never go for it anyway because their donors wouldn't like it.

[Imploding Turtle]

Who has mentioned scrapping it? Which type said that?

We get more back than we give out? You sir are a very deluded and uniformed person. Prove what you said
You cant its rubbish what you have said. Maybe that applies to your type eh?

So why is this relevant?

Cancelling both would enable us to invest more at home where charity is supposed to begin

[Stayingup]

Stating a fact. Not suggesting it. Read the introduction please
Aid should be used correctly for humanitarian reasons and boosting trade. Not given willy nilly.

Now you have said we get more back than we spend
Lets see your proof in figures please. If you cant then I would suggest you shut up.

[Quickenthetempo]

In an interview a couple of weeks ago it was said Africa get £90 billion a year in aid but foreign countries take £100 billion away in debts owed.

It's like all our charity money just goes back to the governments around the world.

[Damo]

Looking at Lancaster's graph why don't we just get rid off all the British folk on benefits and replace them with hard working Eastern Europeans. We'd save miles more money cutting welfare than we would cutting Foreign Aid

That would be a vote winner for me.
In fact I'm surprised the Tories have never tried to implement something like this

[Imploding Turtle]

That would be a vote winner for me.
In fact I'm surprised the Tories have never tried to implement something like this

It would kinda require mass exterminations which is difficult for them to make politically acceptable. But they're working on it. Wait a while.

[Devils_Advocate]

How would you propose to do that?

I'd set up a special taskforce. You know anyone who could help run it for me?

[Jakubclaret]

I'd set up a special taskforce. You know anyone who could help run it for me?

Send your CV off to the DFID recruitment & I’ll casually agree to help you run it & conditionally that when it’s up & running there’s minimal involvement with the foreign office.

[Lancasterclaret]

I'd want experts to run a task force with this sort of budget.

Couple of lads from Burnley commendably putting themselves forward is great, but we probably need a bit more.

[ŽižkovClaret]

Only thing smaller than the foriegn aid budget is the EU contribution.

IMHO we have an obligation due to our history to maintain foreign aid, especially to former Commonwealth countries, and well, its not much is it?

[Stayingup]

IMHO we have an obligation due to our history to maintain foreign aid, especially to former Commonwealth countries, and well, its not much is it?

We have an obligation due to our history to maintain foreign aid? What a load of tosh. I have no obligation to anyone to give my taxes away. Not that I disagree with aid at all but I disagree totally with your reason for it.

[Lancasterclaret]

Has to be said that the ignorance/inability to understand/willingness to understand that we use the money in both the foriegn aid budget and the EU budget as essential tools in our economic growth and standing throughout the world is a concern.

You don't get anything for nothing, and a lot of you think we'll get loads of things for minimal or non-existent gives on our side is naive at best.

[Greenmile]

We have an obligation due to our history to maintain foreign aid? What a load of tosh. I have no obligation to anyone to give my taxes away. Not that I disagree with aid at all but I disagree totally with your reason for it.

Have you changed your mind since you started this thread?

[Rowls]

I’d scrap foreign aid I wouldn’t send a single penny, instead I’d look at where the money is going & I’d send specialist task forces to the countries to evaluate what the problems are & work from there at fixing things.

We used to do exactly that.

Not very vogue at the minute unfortunately but it would achieve better results than foreign aid, most of which might as well be passed down the drain for all the good it actually does.

[Jakubclaret]

We used to do exactly that.

Not very vogue at the minute unfortunately but it would achieve better results than foreign aid, most of which might as well be passed down the drain for all the good it actually does.

It's common sense to send plumbers joiners builders ect over there to work & also train them up, even for offenders it would be a humbling experience & learn them skills to fit back into society knowing a trade.

[Lancasterclaret]

No problem with checking how we spend our foriegn aid, but again, if you think its not being used to maximise our economic clout and to help improve our economy, then you probably need to look at it a bit more closely.

[Erasmus]

It also seems to be the case that our prosperity rests to a significant degree on the deprivation of the poorer nations. We do this through inequitable trading arrangements. I well remember talking about this with a Tanzanian pastor and him telling me that even they had a government of economic experts as righteous as Jesus Christ it would make no difference: "You tell us what to produce and then you tell us how much we will get for it. We have no say in the matter."

One small example is Mozambique, which grows a lot of cocoa beans to sell to the UK but is not allowed to export chocolate here because high tariffs apply. This is the case for a lot of the food we import for which we pay very low prices, which in turn keeps the producers in a state of poverty. The man from Del Monte is a bit of a sod.

So I don't think we can regard foreign aid as any sort of gift. Rather, it is a partial repayment of the debt we owe to poorer countries. The question of how that aid is used and distributed is something different and if it is not getting to the people in need (which I think it is in most cases), then that needs to be worked on.

[Lancasterclaret]

Are you sure about that Erasmus?

Pretty sure that the EU scheme allows the poorest nations tariff free access to the EU area

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45342607" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[Paul Waine]

Has to be said that the ignorance/inability to understand/willingness to understand that we use the money in both the foriegn aid budget and the EU budget as essential tools in our economic growth and standing throughout the world is a concern.

You don't get anything for nothing, and a lot of you think we'll get loads of things for minimal or non-existent gives on our side is naive at best.

Hi Lancs, it "has to be said....." you might want to take a little look yourself at how the foreign aid budget is spent.

Yes, arguments have been made to link aid to UK benefits, but that's not how DfID works: http://www.gov.uk/guidance/where-we-work" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Of course, my link is UK gov't, so it is very probably reporting all expenditure in the most favourable political context.

[Lancasterclaret]

No doubt Paul, they can't say "we are spending our foreign aid to make sure we get more money" can they?

But that the combination of humanitarian aid to help us globally is a good thing.

We should do that more, not less

[Damo]

Are you sure about that Erasmus?

Pretty sure that the EU scheme allows the poorest nations tariff free access to the EU area

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-45342607" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Tariff free access doesn't cover farmed produce. Which is exactly the type of produce a developing country would want to trade with someone else.
Couple that with the Common agricultural policy, and the mass dumping of cut price meat, milk and sugar in Africa, the EU is doing little more than starving developing African countries as opposed to helping them.
Trade not aid is what is required

[Lancasterclaret]

Combination of both I suspect Damo!

You got something to back that one up though, can't see any point in the EU having tariffs on something that we can't make ourselves it has to be said.

[Damo]

Combination of both I suspect Damo!

You got something to back that one up though, can't see any point in the EU having tariffs on something that we can't make ourselves it has to be said.

It's all there in the link you posted a couple of comments ago pal

[Imploding Turtle]

With crime rampant on the streets of the UK and a lack of police numbers to counter it, it must be time to look at the Foreign Aid Budget and our priorities with Tax Payers money. Last year a full 14.1 billion was handed over to other countries in Foreign Aid whilst Home Office budget was 13.1 billion. England and Wales has fewer officers per capita than Greece, Italy and Spain (and Scotland), so to gift so much of our Tax payers money overseas is a ridiculous scandal. Since 2010 we have spent 89 billion on Foreign Aid. It is written into law by an act compelling us to give 0.7% of our GDP in Aid. This act was passed under Cameron’s watch and is another of his disasters like HS2 and one could say the Referendum.
Aid is a good thing in the right circumstances. For humanitarian reasons and to boost British Trade, but to set out a figure each year and not know where it is going to go to is idiocy. But what can be done about it? We have possibly the worst set of childish, self- centred, greedy, dull and talentless bunch of MP’s probably ever in British parliamentary history. Just look at the leaders of the parties. The three stooges would have made a better fist of the jobs than this lot. They will not vote to change law on Foreign Aid for sure, as they are all so, so virtuous. But I am going to badger my MP relentlessly about this.

How much of this OP are your own thoughts, and how much of Esther McVey's paywalled Telegraph article are you passing off as your own thoughts?

[Imploding Turtle]

"With crime rampant on the streets of the UK and a lack of police numbers to counter it, it must be time to look at the Foreign Aid Budget and our priorities with Tax Payers money."

is a rewritten form of:

"Day after day, we are witnessing more stabbings on our streets and more young lives tragically cut short. In such desperate circumstances, it’s time for a rapid reassessment of our priorities and how we spend taxpayers’ money."

---

"Last year a full 14.1 billion was handed over to other countries in Foreign Aid whilst Home Office budget was 13.1 billion."

is almost identical to:

"A full £14.1 billion was handed to other countries, while the entire Home Office budget came to just £13.1 billion. As far as I am concerned, this is a scandal."

---

"England and Wales has fewer officers per capita than Greece, Italy and Spain (and Scotland), so to gift so much of our Tax payers money overseas is a ridiculous scandal."

is from:

"There are 212 officers per 100,000 inhabitants in England and Wales, while Scotland has 322. By contrast, Spain has 361, Italy has 453, Greece has 492 and Cyprus has 573."

And you clearly wanted to include "scandal" from he previous sentence so you just tacked it on here.

---

"Since 2010 we have spent 89 billion on Foreign Aid. It is written into law by an act compelling us to give 0.7% of our GDP in Aid. This act was passed under Cameron’s watch and is another of his disasters like HS2 and one could say the Referendum."

is a reworded version of:

"We have legislated to spend 0.7 per cent of our national income to assist people in developing countries, irrespective of actual need, project outcomes and value for money. More importantly, this is spent regardless of priorities at home. We have spent almost £89 billion on overseas aid since 2010, with the foreign aid budget rocketing by 66 per cent in just seven years, from £8.5 billion to more than £14 billion, at the same time domestic budgets have faced cuts."

------


Your second paragraph is at least your own opinion. Mostly. Probably.

Now, Stayingup, you might wonder "why does it matter"? And that would be a fair question. So why does it matter to you that instead of just saying "Esther McVey said this and i agree with her" you instead chose to present your opening post as your own opinion? And why does this matter to you now? Why didn't this matter to you before McVey posted her dumb article that pretends that the Foreign Aid budget is why we don't have adequate policing?


*No money was harmed by being spent on acquiring the full telegraph article.*