We should have a referendum on Foreign Aid

[Gym Beglin]

My petition:

To hold a referendum on whether or not to we continue to pay Foreign Aid

 

The government debated, loosely, the merits of foreign aid payments as a fixed percentage of GDP back in mid 2016. This decision needs to be taken out of the hands of government and put into the hands of the people via a referendum. Circa £12bn per year is at stake to public services.

 

 

The UK could reduce it's contribution to 0.20% of GDP, higher than the USA's percentage, and could save £8.71 billion per year for public services.  That's per year.  Every fucking year.  And we'd still be giving over £3bn in foreign aid per year.

 

We gave £350m to Pakistan last year.  One of very few countries who can afford a nuke.  Also £150m to India. Both have space programmes.

 

All of this has come to a head as a result of a series of exposes in The Times newspaper, which revealed that the government was now spending as much as £1bn a year from the foreign aid budget on consultancies, with one consultant being paid £23,000 to write a "two-page policy brief".

Another Times report claimed that in order to meet its targets, the UK "dumped" about £9bn of its budget into World Bank trust funds, which receive very little oversight.

Sign the petition and let's have a talk about this, rather than let the Tories decide if it's a 'good idea' or not.  Considering that we know them to be evil bastards, how likely do you think that this money is actually getting to the right people and not into the pockets of contractors...

 

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/125692

 

 

 

[Gym Beglin]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39110688#comment_126471295

 

Look at the bastards, more cuts, more vulnerable people dying.

 

We could find that tomorrow through a reduction in foreign aid budget.

[stringvest]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39110688#comment_126471295

 

Look at the bastards, more cuts, more vulnerable people dying.

 

We could find that tomorrow through a reduction in foreign aid budget.

 

 

I'm disregarding this until I see it on the side of a bus; only then will I be convinced.

[Lee909]

The money is there anyway

The cuts have fuck all to do with need the are policy cuts of a right wing government

[Section_31]

The money is there anyway

The cuts have fuck all to do with need the are policy cuts of a right wing government

 

This is the point a lot of people don't seem to grasp. You can cut all the money you want from the EU budget, money we give to India or whatever the fuck, it still will never - ever - ever - be spent on people here who are in need. 

[Rick Sanchez C-137]

The money is there anyway

The cuts have fuck all to do with need the are policy cuts of a right wing government

 

This. Agreeing to stop foreign aid, if it would ever happen, would paper the cracks potentially until the next wave of cuts. You or I won't ever see the money.

[cloggypop]

Funnneeeee votes UKIP

[Champ]

I despair

[Rick Sanchez C-137]

*look, it's them there foreigners that are stealing our money*

[AngryOfTuebrook]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39110688#comment_126471295

 

Look at the bastards, more cuts, more vulnerable people dying.

 

We could find that tomorrow through a reduction in foreign aid budget.

Go fuck yourself.

[Mook]

We should have a referendum on whether or not Funnneeeee can start anymore of these threads.

[Neil G]

Go fuck yourself.

+1.

[Anubis]

The government want 6% in departmental savings between now and 2020.  Foreign aid accounts for 0.7%.  If you cut it, that still leaves 5.3% to go. That money isn't going to go into public services.

 

The most immediate and pressing problem is not severing the foreign aid budget, but rather severing Tory MP's heads from their bodies.*

 

 

 

 

 

 

*Explanatory Note For Rico - I am not seriously suggesting we actually murder them (at least not yet), but look on it as a playful metaphor for severing them from government.

[Paulie Dangerously]

God can you actually imagine what the referendum campaigns for this would be like?

[Guest Pistonbroke]

Funnneeeee votes UKIP

 

Also a Daily Fail mong spreading racist agenda. The petition was closed ages ago as parliament discussed it last fucking summer! 

[Paulie Dangerously]

The government want 6% in departmental savings between now and 2020.  Foreign aid accounts for 0.7%.  If you cut it, that still leaves 5.3% to go. That money isn't going to go into public services.

 

The most immediate and pressing problem is not severing the foreign aid budget, but rather severing Tory MP's heads from their bodies.*

 

 

*Explanatory Note For Rico - I am seriously suggesting we actually murder them .

 

It's 0.7% of the national wealth goes to foreign aid so don't think the %s are comparable like that, happy to be corrected though.

 

 

The cuts the Government are looking for based on that BBC article

 

"Government departments have been told to find spending cuts of up to 6% as part of plans to save £3.5bn by 2020."

 

 

Would easily be covered by the OPs working out (which I am not going to bother to check out

 

 

 

The UK could reduce it's contribution to 0.20% of GDP, higher than the USA's percentage, and could save £8.71 billion per year for public services.  That's per year.  Every fucking year.

 

It's a staggering amount of money sorted out by what, on the face of it, is a staggeringly simple solution which I don't think deserves all the "fuck yourselves."  Enough people thought so to get it discussed in Parliament anyway. I think this runs deeper than "look after our own"

 

It'll never happen though in a million years for a thousand reasons and even if it did not a penny of that money would be redirected from Foreign aid into the NHS and related services. 

[Spy Bee]

Foreign aid is a pseudonym for trade incentives. 

[RedKnight]

I'm inclined to never have a referendum again after last year.

[stringvest]

Bus wankers

[Chairman Meow]

I don't think you would even need a referendum.

 

I'd be highly surprised if the vast majority of the public didn't favour cutting all foreign aid. 

 

May could announce we are doing it tomorrow and most people wouldn't give a fuck. 

[Dr Nowt]

God can you actually imagine what the referendum campaigns for this would be like?

Re-run of the split screen NHS advert?

[Ashberry]

This is the problem with referenda. Progressive policy cannot be passed. A rise in fuel or alcohol duty would never pass if it was put to referendum. Similar would have been the abolition of capital punishment and smoking ban in pubs and restaurants, both unpopular laws when passed. Thatcher even said that 'referendums are a device for dictators and demagogues, which speaks volumes.

[VERBAL DIARRHEA]

We should deffo stop giving India money, if they can beat us at Cricket they don't need it. Same for Pakistan.

[Arl arse]

What does it matter, all money is magicked into existence anyway. Just get them to add another seven zero's to the account and bingo, no one suffers or dies.

[Jairzinho]

This is the problem with referenda. Progressive policy cannot be passed. A rise in fuel or alcohol duty would never pass if it was put to referendum. Similar would have been the abolition of capital punishment and smoking ban in pubs and restaurants, both unpopular laws when passed. Thatcher even said that 'referendums are a device for dictators and demagogues, which speaks volumes.

 

The problem with referenda is that the population, in general, are a bunch of spastics.

 

Decades of misinformation, bigotry, etc from the press has made us one of the most ignorant nations in the "developed" world.