Current Affairs The Conservative Party

[catcherintherye]

Because we're soft, putting it bluntly. We've always been a top foreign aid donor.

List of development aid sovereign state donors - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It's faux outrage. All that'll happen is we stop sending stupid money to China and India, who - being rich, nuclear countries - will I'm sure cope by having to look after their own bloody populations for once, and we're still outspending the vast majority of nations on foreign aid.

Indeed, rather than moan about it being reduced by 0.2%, there's more of an argument as to why it isn't being reduced further, or at least made more opaque in terms of how it is spent e.g. who it goes to, does the money actually get used on the projected indicated and so on.

EDIT: For reference, biggest recipient of foreign aid is Pakistan. The same Pakistan that maintains a nuclear arsenal. It's a farce.

All fair points. I just wonder why the same government thought 0.7 was the right level and now it's not, thats all.

It's also worth noting there is also acute poverty in these places, as well as nukes.

 

[catcherintherye]

New equalities commissioner attacked ‘modern feminism’ and #MeToo

Jessica Butcher claimed ‘victimhood narrative’ disempowered women, and disputed reasons for gender pay gap

www.theguardian.com

Tories really showing how they see the proles once again “Working-class girls have been deprived of jobs that they love such as Page 3 girls and [Formula One] grid girls because other women disapprove of them. What happened to ‘my body, my choice’?”

I do love how she goes on about "identity politics" then comes out with "my body my choice" i.e me me me me me and doesn't see any irony in it.

 

[Blues Harp]

All fair points. I just wonder why the same government thought 0.7 was the right level and now it's not, thats all.

It's also worth noting there is also acute poverty in these places, as well as nukes.

And you can bet that any money available from this cut will go to fund stuff like the defence budget or to line the pockets of already wealthy tory business types.
The waste of money given to their chums regarding PPE and test and trace proves this

 

[JimmyJeffers]

Because we're soft, putting it bluntly. We've always been a top foreign aid donor.

List of development aid sovereign state donors - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

It's faux outrage. All that'll happen is we stop sending stupid money to China and India, who - being rich, nuclear countries - will I'm sure cope by having to look after their own bloody populations for once, and we're still outspending the vast majority of nations on foreign aid.

Indeed, rather than moan about it being reduced by 0.2%, there's more of an argument as to why it isn't being reduced further, or at least made more opaque in terms of how it is spent e.g. who it goes to, does the money actually get used on the projected indicated and so on.

EDIT: For reference, biggest recipient of foreign aid is Pakistan. The same Pakistan that maintains a nuclear arsenal. It's a farce.

It’s a pretty complex and convoluted subject this. I studied it a fair bit (I know) on my MA. There are arguments that it can actually hinder developing countries by maintaining power structures etc. Think it’s Botswana who decided to drastically reduce the amount of aid they receive and are often touted as a bit of a success story because of it.
I think in Pakistan’s case, it’s probably important for other nations to maintain the status quo and some form of stability in order for nuclear weapons to not fall into the hands of more radicalist regimes. How much of the aid helps your average Pakistani citizen though is anyone’s guess.
A lot of it is for various kick backs and favourable trade. There will be other posters on here with a better knowledge of it all than me that might shed a bit more insight.

 

[NilSatisOptimum]

Wonder if this aid cut will effect the aid partnership deal the UK has with the head chopping kingdom of Saudi Arabia...?

 

[Tubey]

All fair points. I just wonder why the same government thought 0.7 was the right level and now it's not, thats all.

It's also worth noting there is also acute poverty in these places, as well as nukes.

Global pandemic happened, re-assessed necessities. All understandable - as Sunak says, the aspiration is still 0.7%.

But at a time when our economy is taking a 10%+ hit and foreign aid costs the UK more than Housing Benefit does... it's hard to not look at it and think it's probably best spent at home right now rather than things that are often pretty stupid.

I hate linking to the Daily Mail as they sensationalise at every opportunity, but this article is generally the stuff I mean. I remember reading similar years ago about Pakistan.

UK gives £81 MILLION of taxpayers' cash a year to CHINA

In a joint investigation with the TaxPayers' Alliance, the Mail has found that £81million in aid has been sent to China to help fund schemes such as rice production, opera and flood defences.

www.dailymail.co.uk

So yeah, for me - despite the political benefits of foreign aid - I'd rather the government wasted that cash on stupid stuff here.

EDIT: Another example:

"Some of the UK’s foreign aid was spent on a project to help 405,000 women in Pakistan register to vote."

... why are we funding that? Seriously?

 

[catcherintherye]

Global pandemic happened, re-assessed necessities. All understandable - as Sunak says, the aspiration is still 0.7%.

But at a time when our economy is taking a 10%+ hit and foreign aid costs the UK more than Housing Benefit does... it's hard to not look at it and think it's probably best spent at home right now rather than things that are often pretty stupid.

I hate linking to the Daily Mail as they sensationalise at every opportunity, but this article is generally the stuff I mean. I remember reading similar years ago about Pakistan.

UK gives £81 MILLION of taxpayers' cash a year to CHINA

In a joint investigation with the TaxPayers' Alliance, the Mail has found that £81million in aid has been sent to China to help fund schemes such as rice production, opera and flood defences.

www.dailymail.co.uk

So yeah, for me - despite the political benefits of foreign aid - I'd rather the government wasted that cash on stupid stuff here.

EDIT: Another example:

"Some of the UK’s foreign aid was spent on a project to help 405,000 women in Pakistan register to vote."

... why are we funding that? Seriously?

Why wouldn't we want to help fund women voting?

 

[Tubey]

Why wouldn't we want to help fund women voting?

Because Pakistan can do that. They're far from the poorest nation on earth, and there's billions of things more worthwhile spending "aid" on. It's stupid; the only reason it happens is for trade advantages.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the value of that - hell, EU membership was similar (we put money in to take more out in the long run, a nuance Brexiteers couldn't seem to understand) - but in the midst of a pandemic that's a very hard selling point to make when you have people losing jobs left, right and centre while we're sending billions to Pakistan to help Imran Khan get re-elected at some point.

 

[sbbefc]

Because Pakistan can do that. They're far from the poorest nation on earth, and there's billions of things more worthwhile spending "aid" on. It's stupid; the only reason it happens is for trade advantages.

Don't get me wrong, I understand the value of that - hell, EU membership was similar (we put money in to take more out in the long run, a nuance Brexiteers couldn't seem to understand) - but in the midst of a pandemic that's a very hard selling point to make when you have people losing jobs left, right and centre while we're sending billions to Pakistan to help Imran Khan get re-elected at some point.

Good points, but surely if we're about to become 'Global Britain', to stand a chance with brexit, isn't this soft power exactly what we need right now?

To be honest I don't know enough about it to put up a fight in this debate. Just a thought though.

 

[Agent Blue]

Read this today.
Apparently Rishi Sunaks wife is more wealthy than the Queen and has hardly declared any of it to Parliament.

Huge wealth of Rishi Sunak's family not declared in ministerial register

Exclusive: Akshata Murty, Sunak’s wife, holds multimillion-pound portfolio making her richer than the Queen

www.theguardian.com

 

[summerisle]

I'd like to see him try, gunboats up the Clyde perhaps. What a numbskull he really is.

 

[dublinbluenose]

Shameful but expect nothing less from a Tory government

 

[summerisle]

Now mainstream.

 

[peteblue]

Now mainstream.

Welcome to yesterday and two days ago.....

 

[Noisy noise annoys]

Global pandemic happened, re-assessed necessities. All understandable - as Sunak says, the aspiration is still 0.7%.

But at a time when our economy is taking a 10%+ hit and foreign aid costs the UK more than Housing Benefit does... it's hard to not look at it and think it's probably best spent at home right now rather than things that are often pretty stupid.

I hate linking to the Daily Mail as they sensationalise at every opportunity, but this article is generally the stuff I mean. I remember reading similar years ago about Pakistan.

UK gives £81 MILLION of taxpayers' cash a year to CHINA

In a joint investigation with the TaxPayers' Alliance, the Mail has found that £81million in aid has been sent to China to help fund schemes such as rice production, opera and flood defences.

www.dailymail.co.uk

So yeah, for me - despite the political benefits of foreign aid - I'd rather the government wasted that cash on stupid stuff here.

EDIT: Another example:

"Some of the UK’s foreign aid was spent on a project to help 405,000 women in Pakistan register to vote."

... why are we funding that? Seriously?

But it is a big shot in the eye for these countries, little old Britain bailing out their poor cos they cant. I was proud that we did so, it really set us apart.

I understand why it has been cut but, it is some of the poorest in the world who will suffer.