Opinion: Too much foreign aid?

Every one of us has felt the effect of cuts to public services and the like, so why do our politicians still insist on sending so much of our hard earned cash abroad in foreign aid?

To put our contributions into perspective, America’s foreign aid budget works out at £63 per person per year. Japan’s is £48, but we pay £200 per year for every person living in the UK.

No country contributes more than the UK, if you take the budget for the entire world our contribution is £1 out of every £7 spent, or 15 per cent.

The foreign aid budget currently stands at £12bn pounds per year, 0.07 per cent as our Government insists we spend each year.

And then we look at the countries receiving this British aid… China and India, which are two of the growth countries in the world, plus some of the most corrupt countries ever seen.

Uganda receives £92m per year, Zimbabwe £66m, Nigeria £250m, Kenya £129m, Afghanistan £178m, Congo £183m, Pakistan £538m, and so it goes on.

China and India are countries with nuclear weapons and expanding space programmes, but we send them aid!

Pakistan is another nuclear power with a Muslim population that is not very sympathetic to our values and way of life, but we send them aid!

And yet in the UK we are all told to tighten our belts and ride out the storm.

Is this political dogma, pure ideological dogma or complete madness?

I know what I think and I’m sure there are many in the UK who think likewise.

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