While we continue to give millions of pounds to countries like India (£150m to a space faring, nuclear power), and a larger amount to Pakistan (which spends £2bn pa on its nuclear forces), to prop up its schools, health and social programs. We top this with billions more for incredibly dubious schemes in other third world nations, in Foreign Aid. While our own country is in serious need of some TLC.
But we are effectively broke, with spending restrictions on domestic expenditure such as health and transport. But foreign aid spending just rises relentlessly and currently stands at £12bn pa.
So our roads, NHS and other social amenities continue to crumble.
The one that we see the most of are the roads which are little better than those in countries where our aid money is spent. According to many transport organisations, some 10% of the road network maintained by local authorities in Great Britain, approximately 22,990 miles (37,000 kilometres), are in poor condition.
I suspect that this is a vast under estimate. Just locally to me nearly every road has a great number of pot holes. The picture above was taken exactly 50 paces from my front gates. I got 40 such holes patched (badly), by the local council on that same road just 2 months ago, but as illustrated there are another 40 such holes on the remainder of this one road.
On a major A Road near me the holes are so big that buses are slowing down to get over them. We can't carry on like this. The amount given out overseas, for the first time, outstrips the entire amount given to local councils who spend most of their money helping the poor and vulnerable in British communities.
The Commonwealth Development Corporation for example has funded projects such as pumping £26 million into a Congo palm olive company called Feronia Inc, which has been criticised by a number of UK charities for underpaying staff at less than £1.50 a day and illegally occupying land.
Other “investments” include a Brazilian fitness chain, Mexican tourist resort, cable TV in Kyrgyzstan and private boarding schools for the wealthy in Kenya. While a green energy scheme in one country, costing £260m of the UK taxpayers’ money, has produced only enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of just 100 British households - about the size of a typical street.
What the f*ck has this got to do with foreign aid? We are simply helping the middle-class and rich i.e. The powerful and corrupt, in the the third world have very comfortable lives, while our own poor suffer, and our working and middle classes suffer third world levels of public services.
There is no evidence that our misspent taxes spent abroad, have stopped one radicalised terrorist, or redressed even one injustice in the world. Charity begins at home .... we should halve the foreign aid budget and cap it at that until we have addressed our own crises .....
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| Not 50 Paces From My Front Gate .....Potholes. |
But we are effectively broke, with spending restrictions on domestic expenditure such as health and transport. But foreign aid spending just rises relentlessly and currently stands at £12bn pa.
So our roads, NHS and other social amenities continue to crumble.
The one that we see the most of are the roads which are little better than those in countries where our aid money is spent. According to many transport organisations, some 10% of the road network maintained by local authorities in Great Britain, approximately 22,990 miles (37,000 kilometres), are in poor condition.
I suspect that this is a vast under estimate. Just locally to me nearly every road has a great number of pot holes. The picture above was taken exactly 50 paces from my front gates. I got 40 such holes patched (badly), by the local council on that same road just 2 months ago, but as illustrated there are another 40 such holes on the remainder of this one road.
On a major A Road near me the holes are so big that buses are slowing down to get over them. We can't carry on like this. The amount given out overseas, for the first time, outstrips the entire amount given to local councils who spend most of their money helping the poor and vulnerable in British communities.
The Commonwealth Development Corporation for example has funded projects such as pumping £26 million into a Congo palm olive company called Feronia Inc, which has been criticised by a number of UK charities for underpaying staff at less than £1.50 a day and illegally occupying land.
- Several shopping malls in Nigeria;
- Daraz, the Pakistani version of Amazon;
- A chain of stores selling iPhones in Egypt; and
- Restaurant chains in Vietnam, India and Peru.
Other “investments” include a Brazilian fitness chain, Mexican tourist resort, cable TV in Kyrgyzstan and private boarding schools for the wealthy in Kenya. While a green energy scheme in one country, costing £260m of the UK taxpayers’ money, has produced only enough renewable electricity to power the equivalent of just 100 British households - about the size of a typical street.
What the f*ck has this got to do with foreign aid? We are simply helping the middle-class and rich i.e. The powerful and corrupt, in the the third world have very comfortable lives, while our own poor suffer, and our working and middle classes suffer third world levels of public services.
There is no evidence that our misspent taxes spent abroad, have stopped one radicalised terrorist, or redressed even one injustice in the world. Charity begins at home .... we should halve the foreign aid budget and cap it at that until we have addressed our own crises .....
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