Forum Topic

What do you think?

With the Chancellor's announcement of yet more massive cuts to the welfare budget and billions more needed after the next General Election do you not think it it high time this government stopped handing out billions in aid to places such as North Korea, China and India?David Cameron has actually gone cap in hand to China hoping they will invest in this country, they certainly do not seem to need a handout from this country!We are actually borrowing billions just so we can give this money to other countries!They are already cutting back the budget for the NHS and closing hospitals to sell off the land!Now they are thinking of targetting the dear old pensioners again with the removal of the Winter Fuel Allowance and the Freedom Pass.It just does not make any sense to me.

Jean F Fernandez ● 4468d14 Comments

Foreign aid is not aid in the main is my understanding. It's less about altruism and more about bribes really.http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aid

Paul James ● 4465d

From what I heard it would cost far too much to means test pensioners so I guess this is a non starter.Perhaps they should have some way of allowing the so called better off pensioners to pass on their unwanted 'benefits' to some other deserving individual.

Jean F Fernandez ● 4465d

Keith do you really want a space programme? The only space I need is a separate kitchen. Open plan bah. The trouble is with taking away fuel allowance from rich pensioners is the fact they paid more income tax than many other working class pensioners so they probably see this as a reimbursement from their already paid taxes. How can the government means test all pensioners? 

Tony Maxey ● 4465d

We do give small amount of aid to North Korea and much more to China. I wonder if they put it toward the cost of their space programme... I wish we could afford one..

Keith Iddon ● 4467d

"do you not think it it high time this government stopped handing out billions in aid to places such as North Korea, China and India?"I wasn't aware that we are providing any aid, certainly not billions, to North Korea or China.  What made you think that we are?It was announced over a year ago that "the UK will approve no new financial grant aid to India", and that our commitments to ongoing projects will be completed by 2015.

Richard Jennings ● 4467d

Pensioners are the one group most likely to vote and it will be a very reckless decision if this government or indeed the opposition have plans to remove the Winter Fuel Allowance and the Freedom Pass. Give back to those who actually worked and paid into society, what was it Cameron said? Support those who have worked and contributed into the system.(or words to that effect).Why give such huge amounts of overseas aid when there are so many people in desperate need at home?The way things are going in this country I can hazard a guess that it won't be long before we ALL have to pay for treatment on the NHS. The ball started rolling as soon as MP's started talking about charging £10 or in some cases £50 for treatment in A&E. If one can actually find an A&E that is!What is happening to this once great country? Can anyone sort out the mess?

Jean F Fernandez ● 4467d

Most whisky companies are owned by multi-nationals as are the fashion houses. Horse breeding isn't going to make an iota of difference to the balance of payments but I will concede TV production as the export broadcast licences for Top Gear effectively pay for BBC2.

Nigel Brooks ● 4467d

How about whisky, fashion clobber and design expertise, horse breeding and training and TV production etc?

Gerry Tan ● 4467d

" Britain desperately needs the aspiring middleclass millions of countries like China, India, Mexico, Brazil and others to buy goods from the UK."Apart from luxury goods, from 'British' companies largely now owned by foreign corporations, I can't think of much that we make that would entice these countries.

Nigel Brooks ● 4468d

As a simple point of fact, the cuts can in no way be described as "massive" when they amount to c£25B on a budget of £650B. Then again, a 3.8% cut probably doesn't make good headlines.

Chris Martin ● 4468d

Our giving millions of £s in overseas aid and pleading with China to invest in Britain seems strange, but that's the conundrum of diplomacy. Britain desperately needs the aspiring middleclass millions of countries like China, India, Mexico, Brasil and others to buy goods from the UK. The giving of overseas aid is a strange business in which we 'sweeten' so-called developing countries in the hope that they'll invest in us.Regarding Winter Fuel Allowances, Freedom Passes, free prescriptions and free TV licences, there are many well-off and comfortable pensioners who don't need these free perks, yet there are those who need a helping hand. Stop giving these 'freebies' to the rich and give more to the needy I say.

Gerry Tan ● 4468d

There are areas which NEED aid and that is where ourfocus should be.Large parts (in fact most) of Africa, India and China are not on my list.We have turned many countries in Africa into a 'dependency' culture rather than ensuring that they use they bounteous resources to obviate the need for aid.

Nigel Brooks ● 4468d

Is it?  When the balloon bursts which recycling container would you put it in?

Christine Daniels ● 4468d

It is just like squeezing a balloon.  The air (or problem) is pushed from one area to another.

Philippa Bond ● 4468d