General election 2017: No cut to UK aid spending, says May

www.bbc.co.uk...

So it seems the UK is going to continue the commitment of assigning 0.7% National income on foreign aid.

Reality Check: How much does UK spend on aid? Foreign aid has been ringfenced from public spending cuts over the past seven years and has been one of the few areas to see a large increase in budgets. In 2015, the last year for which figures are available, the UK spent £12.1bn on overseas development assistance. This was projected to rise to £13.3bn in 2016.

Its not so much that i mind the UK aid policy as such in principal... but the use of these funds is beyond stupidity and some of the countries we send this aid to and some of the projects it goes to fund are insane...India and Pakistan are Nuclear powers FFS!!!

a reply to: nickovthenorth

What does the aid money get spent on because no disrespect to those countries but they're all sh*tholes and the quality of life is terrible in all of them and have not improved since we've been sending them money ?

It's also funny that 2 of those we send aid, have nukes, if they can afford nukes there's no way we should be sending them aid, they're also the 2 most likely nations to start a nuclear war, after North Korea...

Not to mention 50% of them harbour terrorists so we're effectively aiding terrorism

The money would be much better spent on improving our country's infrastructure and increasing NHS funding

I am sure they could spend foreign aid on my borough in London, I mean being native British puts you firmly in the smallest demographic and my road is starting to look like something out of black hawk down..

Maybe sending round a road sweeper would be a good start, I wont ask for all the pot holes, criminals and pimps to be sorted just yet, lets not get ahead of ourselves...


RA

a reply to: Discotech

What does the aid money get spent on because no disrespect to those countries but they're all sh*tholes and the quality of life is terrible in all of them and have not improved since we've been sending them money ?

Exactly, most likely it greases palms for governments policies and weapons contracts etc...India has its own space program as well as nukes for crying out loud why are we sending them money its insane.

I don't understand why not. They make relentless cuts to healthcare, mental health, education, the police, the armed forces, everything under the sun.

I fail to see why we give foreign aid when we (apparently) have to make such drastic cuts to our own services. The foreign aid budget should have been eliminated before any domestic cuts took place



I also see £250 million going to Syria on that list. I can't help but think that's not so much "foreign aid" as "armaments aid" for terrorists.

a reply to: slider1982


Honestly i couldn't live in London, we visit as tourists but you only need to venture slightly off track and you can find your self in some intimidating areas for sure.

Don't get me wrong though there are plenty areas that are almost or in some cases even as bad as some areas of London where i am up north.

a reply to: Ohanka

I also see £250 million going to Syria on that list. I can't help but think that's not so much "foreign aid" as "armaments aid" for terrorists.

This is very likely and very sad really when you think what the money is supposed be for...of course this is only my opinion i can't prove this.

a reply to: nickovthenorth

There's layers of 'consultants' who make an awfully comfortable living out of all this aid money.
A guy on radio 4 was trying to get a straight answer from one on the news yesterday and , of course, no real answers were forthcoming, when pressed.

Its a bit like some of these charities that spend the greatest bulk of collections on administration and the absolute minimum goes to the actual cause.

On top of all that, they cannot admit that they should spend money on this country's inhabitants because to do so would be an admission that it is not laziness that puts people into poverty but bad policy.

Think South Park.... Well we have to kill the deer in a cull otherwise some of them might die!

Insane.

I wrote a thread on the stupidity of UK foreign aid
the sheer wastecshould disgust anyone but it is ignored!

We cut disability aid while sending billions to dictators or my worse was the millions spent on chinese football teams and a Ethiopian girl band!


We cant afford forign vanity projects while UK disabled and pensioners starve and freeze to death!


Of the 14 billion we pissaway abroad only a third of that is likely spent on actually diaster relief, food and medical aid!

I say foreign aid should have been the first thing on the chopping block! Cut it by by two thirds! Leave on the money for REAL aid!

originally posted by: Ohanka
I don't understand why not. They make relentless cuts to healthcare, mental health, education, the police, the armed forces, everything under the sun.

I fail to see why we give foreign aid when we (apparently) have to make such drastic cuts to our own services. The foreign aid budget should have been eliminated before any domestic cuts took place

I also see £250 million going to Syria on that list. I can't help but think that's not so much "foreign aid" as "armaments aid" for terrorists.

The UK spent 5 million on a Ethiopian girl band as part of foreign "aid" and we have disabled people at home commiting sucide because of benfit cuts........

This drives me crazy, the funds are simply spirited away for nefarious purposes.
Wouldn't mind so much if they used it for education or infrastructure that benefits everyone. But no it is given to dicey governments for non-existent schemes - and half the places want to see us burn.
I'd sooner see a properly funded and effective disaster relief effort than this current mess.
Bill Gates had the gall to lecture us on keeping this. Easy to say when you're worth £80 billion and never have to wait or worry about anything.

a reply to: crazyewok

The Police are picking up the slack and having to act to take care of those with serious mental health issues.
Their funding continues to be cut
Theyre also having problems recruiting and training armed response units to counter the terror threats...

Makes you feel all warm inside doesn't it!

a reply to: DrBobH

And if you try and point out your concerns your called heartless and the goverment bring out a well they dug or a school they have built to tug the heart strings.........great except that £12 -14 billion isnt all going on wells, schools, hospitals and food, only a very small fraction is!

originally posted by: Tulpa
a reply to: crazyewok

The Police are picking up the slack and having to act to take care of those with serious mental health issues.
Their funding continues to be cut
Theyre also having problems recruiting and training armed response units to counter the terror threats...

Makes you feel all warm inside doesn't it!

Meanwhile the Ministey of Forign aid will have approved $50 milllion so that president mumbo jumbo of bongo bongo land can have a gold plated hummvee .

Yeah i read recently about the Ethiopian girl band its a joke just not a good one... but i suppose if you didn't laugh you would probably cry.

There are a multitude of issues at home that would have a better use than most of the crap the aid goes to, but try convincing others regarding this and your straight away labeled as heartless or that its one of the many variations of 'ism' we have today.

Look I'm all for helping struggling nations providing that's what it actually gets used for(spoiler alert) most of the time it is not... but when we are sending aid to countries with nukes and space programs?... come on its not hard to admit that this money is better spent in the UK.

originally posted by: crazyewok
I wrote a thread on the stupidity of UK foreign aid
the sheer wastecshould disgust anyone but it is ignored!

We cut disability aid while sending billions to dictators or my worse was the millions spent on chinese football teams and a Ethiopian girl band!


We cant afford forign vanity projects while UK disabled and pensioners starve and freeze to death!




Of the 14 billion we pissaway abroad only a third of that is likely spent on actually diaster relief, food and medical aid!

I say foreign aid should have been the first thing on the chopping block! Cut it by by two thirds! Leave on the money for REAL aid!

Thanks for the thread link i have only read your opening but i have flagged to remind me to read all of it later.

You have listed a couple i wasn't aware of too so for the info but for the info also if you know what i mean

a reply to: nickovthenorth

Sorry about the vagueness of this post but I'd only just woken up and put sky news on only to hear half a discussion about foreign aid.
Apparently we have sent money to North Korea!!!
Yes... North Korea! Why????
Not only that but one of the missiles they successfully fired was recovered (wreckage, obviously) and was found to contain parts made in Britain.
Again I apologise for the lack of detail but I'll try and see if I can get something more solid but how does that make any Brits in dire straights feel when they find out that we can send cash to little fatty while being financially raped back home?

Insane isn't the right word. Something is very wrong with this. I'm pretty sure that our money won't have ended up as charity for NKs population but will have gone directly to the NK govt. Mad.