Add trade talks to aid

The decision to peg UK foreign aid to 0.7 per cent of gross national income was always a mistake. As income has risen, so the aid budget has swelled – to more than 10 times the Foreign Office budget. Forecasts show that with Britain spending three times as much per head as the US on aid, the money sent overseas is set to overtake the amount of money distributed by central government to local British councils. In far too many cases, that money eventually goes to autocracies, such as Uganda and Rwanda, and to unstable regimes that are highly corrupt, such as Afghanistan and Somalia.

There is of course a role for aid, but trade is a much better way of helping poorer countries. Capitalist development and integration into the world market has helped lift millions out of war, disease and poverty. So the suggestion of Priti Patel, the new International Development Secretary, that meetings with foreign leaders to discuss aid could be also used to advance new trade arrangements is a clever one that would surely benefit all involved. Why not use Britain’s development links as a way of lubricating trade liberalisation?

Mrs Patel’s move hopefully attests to the way in which Brexit is moulding a fresh approach to foreign affairs. When Theresa May selected a new Cabinet, it was notable how Eurosceptics dominated the departments dealing with withdrawal from the EU – and the suggestion of using aid as leverage offers a chance to expand opportunities beyond the continent. There is a huge appetite to sign trade deals with the UK now that we are throwing off the shackles of Brussels. The faster that process begins, the better.