Chancellor cuts International Aid budget

Sad but unfortunately charity begins at home in these hard times.

I agree with reducing the country's international aid budget at this time, it can always be increased at a future date.

I expect it will be a popular move with his party, but his party also don't like immigration from poorer countries. Unless we help poorer countries to become richer, or help them to reduce the impact of climate change (which also costs money) then the immigration will continue. It also makes our country look very mean and inward looking when we are trying to project an image of an outward looking "global" Britain.
So no, I don't agree, because it is not a sensible move, just a shortsighted one.

I do agree. Unprecedented.

Too often the money doesn’t get where it should and it goes to countries where their leaders spend huge sums of money on other things. £500,000 was spent on distributing Shaun the Sheep” to the Chinese. If people want to give to a particular foreign aid or any charity come to that they are free to do so.

I don't think we should give any international aid at all other than keeping an emergency fund for natural disasters like earthquakes. Charity creates dependency and getting in debt to give money away is pure stupidity.

I totally agree with 25Avalon and quiz queen. I do not have faith that the money gets to the right people.

I think we should continue to give international aid at the present level and not reduce it.So many people in so many countries are suffering enormously at this time. We are rich beyond compare in this country.

I also agree with this and think it could have been reduced further.

Even with the reduction we still pay a lot more than other countries.

In fact the whole system needs a radical overhaul. So much of what we spend doesn’t even get to where it’s needed but instead ends up in the pockets of corrupt leaders.

I agree with the cut which amounts to £4 billion. We're still providing £10 billion a year. It's a cut from 0.7 to 0.5% of national income making us still one of the top charitable nations in the world. We spend a greater proportion of GDP than France, Canada, Italy and Japan and three times more than the US. We also donate to other international projects on top. How can we be called mean?

Well, its all about Tory priorities, isn't it? We're going to spend $16bn over the next 4 years on defence, including a Space Command but we're cutting spending on people who "aren't like us". So people get to say things like charity begins at home and suggest that they only mis-spend it anyway.

The one ray of hope is that Sunak did say that they plan for it to rise again next year.

It is unpopular with much of the Tory party.

It does absolutely nothing to promote our aim at “global Britain”

We seem to be turning ever more in on ourselves.

Nationalism is not the way the world is thinking.

raise it again

There appears to be a furious backlash from many quarters over this decision.
Aid experts and MPs, according to the Guardian, describe the 'slash' (sic) as 'unprincipled, unjustified and harmful'

I don’t think people here who have lost jobs and rely on food banks would consider themselves to be rich beyond compare. It’s a meaningless phrase. Continue to support countries by overseas aid but ask for evidence of how it has been effective.
I agree with the chancellor on this one.

Aren’t we chairing various world conferences next year, sorry can’t recall which, but it won’t look good if we pull out of our commitment beforehand.

We give aid to China !!

I do agree with careful audit of where it goes and how it’s spent. Not sure if the Audit Commission still operates.

So much of his speech was aimed at convincing the voter of his priorities and we again are subjected to the nonsense of “common sense” economics.

An example is his suggestion that there is a tension between the public and private sector with regard to income.

There is no tension! The way the private sector succeeds is with an economy where the customer spends his income. By suppressing income Sunak is suppressing the economy.

He hasn’t learned any lessons has he, or perhaps he has! The wealthy need no boost from the government do they? That will come with Brexit.

I agree with quizqueen and Avalon- charity begins at home and we always help when there are natural disasters happening.

Even at 0.5% the UK International Aid Budget is still higher than the majority of countries.

The Government will continue to provide aid for those in need and disasters emergency funds.

I am totally against giving aid to countries who have their own space programs (China and India for example)

There was a poll on one of the breakfast news programs and the support from the general public was over 90% for this cut.

I did read that under the last Labour Government the Internal Aid Budget averaged 0.39%, I will try to find the link.

I had always been proud of the aid we gave to developing countries. However, I hadn't realised that we gave so much money to China and India for example, countries with their own rocket programmes. So, for me, this time limited reduction seems reasonable right now. Its only temporary and this should give time to rethink and refocus where our aid should really go in order to help those in need.

Whilst we still have so many people losing jobs we need to take care of our own first. He isn't cutting foreign aid completely - UK is still one of the most generous countries.

Just shows on Rishi's magic money tree the apple doesn't fall far from the tree (sorry)