WHY I’M BACKING THE DAILY EXPRESS CRUSADE TO SLASH WASTEFUL FOREIGN AID
TORY Party grandee Jacob ReesMogg last night gave his backing to the Daily Express crusade to Stop The Foreign Aid Madness.
The Brexit-supporting MP, tipped as a future party leader and prime minister, said spending a set percentage of our national income overseas was political posturing.
His intervention comes as support for our campaign grows by the day with 30,000 postal coupons arriving at our London headquarters while thousands more sign our online petition.
Mr Rees-Mogg, 48, said: “I fully support the Daily Express campaign. The [foreign aid] target was a piece of political showmanship from David Cameron and George Osborne.
“We should help in emergencies, and by facilitating investment and trade, but beyond that it is fundamentally wasteful.”
And the influential politician agrees with millions of ordinary Britons that the Government’s target of spending 0.7 per cent of national income overseas is folly. Last year the foreign aid bill came to a staggering £13.3billion.
North East Somerset MP Mr ReesMogg said: “A further problem with our overseas aid budget is that to reach the target it has to be spent in a specific calendar year before the GDP figure is available. The obligation is not to under-spend so the incentive can be to shovel money out of the door as the end of December looms.
“Importantly, the funds may not be invested for longer term economic growth which could conceivably bring a return to the British Government.
“Thus the target is more easily met by spending money on the Ethiopian Spice Girls [girl band Yegna was given £5million to develop a social media platform] rather than a long-term investment in electricity generation.”
He added: “Overall the Government should encourage trade and remove barriers which will be easier after Brexit, support international investments and be willing to be generous in the event of emergencies.
“Setting an arbitrary target, the exact amount of which is unknowable, in advance is purely tokenistic, puts Government spin ahead of meeting real needs and shows greater compassion for a good headline than for good government.”
The scandal of how billions of pounds of taxpayers’ money is spent abroad prompted the Daily Express to demand change in the law.
We believe Britain has a crucial role to play helping foreign countries flourish, but we need to put the interests of millions struggling here first.
Daily Express reader Peter Lawrence of Sherborne, Dorset, said: “We must get rid of the prevailing culture under which the poor British taxpayers are expected to take on the problems of the whole world.”
Jonathan Earle of St Neots, Cambs, added: “Congratulations and well done Daily Express. This message is most urgently needed. As well as the NHS and elderly the Armed Forces are having to scrap and sell ships. Defence is the prime responsibility of government and it is falling short.”
And Barry Hudson, of York, said simply: “Mrs May, I am 68 years old and have voted Tory all my life but if you don’t stop this madness then I will never vote Tory ever again.”
Priti Patel, International Development Secretary said: “We are making the world a better, safer, healthier and more prosperous place and helping protect Britain from diseases and threats as we do so.
“But the money spent by ministers and civil servants does not belong to them. It belongs to UK taxpayers who have worked hard for it. That is why under my leadership, my priority is to make sure aid money is spent wisely.”
To sign the petition visit express. co.uk/stop-the-foreign-aid-madness