Foreign Aid

Do you think that some countries might not feel too good about the British Army arriving?
I'm sure some would dislike it. I'm sure some armed groups within some countries would object, as they use human suffering to their advantage. I do think however a country being ravaged by plague, famine, civil war, or natural disaster would generally be grateful for prompt medical treatment, delivery of tents and food or the building of a temporary bridge.
 


I'm sure some would dislike it. I'm sure some armed groups within some countries would object, as they use human suffering to their advantage. I do think however a country being ravaged by plague, famine, civil war, or natural disaster would generally be grateful for prompt medical treatment, delivery of tents and food or the building of a temporary bridge.

I admire your lack of cynicism.
 
You don't put money in a charity box then miss your mortgage/rent payment!

If foreign countries need a "sweetener" to trade with us we are probably not making anything on the deal anyway.

If Boris and Rishi announced next week that the overseas aid budget is scrapped and that future aid is humanitarian based on 80% + positive votes in parliament they would piss the next 3 elections.

BTW - humanitarian is things like the tsunami, not ongoing African issues

I would be surprised if the politics of overseas aid has the potential to make significant electoral differences. I doubt it even registers with the vast majority of voters.

It is not constitutionally possible to impose a special majority on Parliament. Even if some Acts seem to do so (e.g. the Fixed Term Patliament Act 2011) they can always be repealed by a simple majority.
 
I get what you're saying, but what I'm talking about are huge purpose build hospital ships with purpose built operating theatres, ICUs, classrooms and multiple helicopter landing pads, where kids could be paid while training to become doctors and nurses without a student loan. They could get practical medical experience while providing practical aid to disadvantaged parts of the world. These hospital ships could be accompanied by a RFA ship with a detachment of marines and Royal Engineers to provide protection and carry out infrastructure projects.

All this could be paid for from our current overseas aid budget.

Foreign aid should be, and is in a lot of instances, used to help developing countries provide this type of thing for themselves.

How would you fancy a bunch of Chinese soldiers and medics coming here to help us cope with this coronavirus?
 
Foreign aid should be, and is in a lot of instances, used to help developing countries provide this type of thing for themselves.

How would you fancy a bunch of Chinese soldiers and medics coming here to help us cope with this coronavirus?
Foreign aid should be whatever a donor wants it to be.
I think we would be grateful for any help we could get and we're not talking about China. We're talking about places that can't do it for themselves at that time.

Do you think if we needed help we would say your not helping us you're Chinese. You sound a right racist.
 
Foreign aid should be whatever a donor wants it to be.
I think we would be grateful for any help we could get and we're not talking about China. We're talking about places that can't do it for themselves at that time.

Do you think if we needed help we would say your not helping us you're Chinese. You sound a right racist.

We can't deal with the coronavirus as well as China has, so it's a reasonable analogy.

You think I'm being racist for suggesting you (and the rest of us) would be happy having a foreign military presence come to rescue? I think not.
 
We can't deal with the coronavirus as well as China has, so it's a reasonable analogy.

You think I'm being racist for suggesting you (and the rest of us) would be happy having a foreign military presence come to rescue? I think not.
Foreign medical staff. Non combatants. Real doctors and nurses. There is a massive difference in your comparison and you're being a dick. We are the 5th or 6th richest country on Earth.

We can deal with it as well as China. We just have difficulty running a police state. Police in Derbyshire getting pelters for shaming people out for a jolly.
 
Foreign medical staff. Non combatants. Real doctors and nurses. There is a massive difference in your comparison and you're being a dick. We are the 5th or 6th richest country on Earth.

We can deal with it as well as China. We just have difficulty running a police state. Police in Derbyshire getting pelters for shaming people out for a jolly.

A racist and a dick, now.

We and other wealthy countries already donate to NGOs like the WHO and UN to assist developing countries in emergencies.

I'm saying help them help themselves. No-one wants a foreign military coming to their assistance for domestic issues.
 
A racist and a dick, now.

We and other wealthy countries already donate to NGOs like the WHO and UN to assist developing countries in emergencies.

I'm saying help them help themselves. No-one wants a foreign military coming to their assistance for domestic issues.
Apologies for calling you a dick (drunk no excuse) but why make the comparison of getting a country like China sending troops to the UK? We have problems like everywhere else, but many countries have massive need for help with the most simple things like cataract surgery and child immunisation. I'm suggesting a safe well organised environment for assistance to be given.

Many developing countries lack safe facilities to carry out things like immunisation programmes and don't have enough medical staff or equipment to cope with every day situations. Quite often NGOs have their hands tied in relation to activities in unstable parts of the world and can often be ineffective.
 
Apologies for calling you a dick (drunk no excuse) but why make the comparison of getting a country like China sending troops to the UK? We have problems like everywhere else, but many countries have massive need for help with the most simple things like cataract surgery and child immunisation. I'm suggesting a safe well organised environment for assistance to be given.

Many developing countries lack safe facilities to carry out things like immunisation programmes and don't have enough medical staff or equipment to cope with every day situations. Quite often NGOs have their hands tied in relation to activities in unstable parts of the world and can often be ineffective.

It could have been any country sending military personnel to help us build hospitals and administer treatment. It wouldn't go down well and I don't think we should assume other countries would welcome our military assisting despite their need.

On the rest, we chip in with emergency aid and our foreign aid would have longer term benefit for ourselves and recipients if it helps enable their economic and social development rather than firefighting.
 
It could have been any country sending military personnel to help us build hospitals and administer treatment. It wouldn't go down well and I don't think we should assume other countries would welcome our military assisting despite their need.

On the rest, we chip in with emergency aid and our foreign aid would have longer term benefit for ourselves and recipients if it helps enable their economic and social development rather than firefighting.
I'm not suggesting we invade or go anywhere uninvited. A lot of places would welcome the help.
 
Thing is, if we cut our aid budget, the money would just go into the same pot and be spent in the same way as normally. i.e. not where you think it would go.

When you think about it, its madness that we have to borrow billions every year, yet we give billions away in aid. We literally cannnot afford it anyway.

I somewhat agree with OP though. A "Overseas Aid" organisation to help where urgent aid is actually needed sounds good. Not sure it would be as productive as similarly-minded countries coming together and doing it collectively under one organisation though.
Either way, its going to be corrupt as fuck.
 

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