Is there a thread about Starmer's announcement...

[Westfacing]

... to increase defence spending and reduce overseas aid?

Hasn't he just increased overseas aid?

According to the BBC's website

'On Tuesday, the prime minister said he would cut the foreign aid budget to fund the military boost - a move welcomed by the Trump administration but labelled a "betrayal" by development charities.'

All to appease Trump before his visit to the US.

The first duty of any government is to defend the nation.

UK spent around 5% of GDP on defence up until the end of the Cold War and then cut back drastically as a result of the “peace dividend”. Things have now changed and we need to spend more.

This government has boxed itself into a corner by saying they will not increase income tax. This was a big mistake. So they have to cut elsewhere. Difficult times. Difficult choices.

We should be fixing our own country before sending our funds abroad as far as I'm concerned.

War is always a last resort but every step we take along the way make it inevitable. Strong men and their legacies, ffs.

Britain can’t defend itself any longer, we’ve cut everything to the bone in the name of efficiency, including the armed forces. We’re a hollow shell.

I hate starmer abd labour ao was so shocked when I agreed with what he had announced!!!!!!

If we are not a secure safe country in our own right we cannot afford to help other countries, especially seeing as some of the money we give is ridiculous. Why are we giving Jordan £42m? It is a wealth Middle Eastern country. Beautiful too I've been!

Well he has to. As I've said on previous threads, we have to do what he's asking because Trump holds all the cards. We, therefore, have to adopt his "our country first" approach to survive, although in our case that means "Europe first".

The US backing out of Ukraine now would put Putin on NATO's doorstep. The new German Chancellor (I think), was correct in what he said yesterday, that Europe needs to boost their defences to a point to be effective without US involvement.

That needs to be funded somehow. And they've been elected on the premise that they aren't going to increase taxation, so it will have to be funded by other means.

Do I think that will lead to widespread challenges with immigration? Yes. But these are difficult times where difficult choices will have to be made.

This is awful. No money for the NHS, education, social care etc and children going hungry, but we have billions to send to other countries?

I agree. It particularly annoys me that we're giving so much to India and Pakistan, countries that both spend a lot on their own space programs.

Long overdue. How much money have we given to countries where nothing changes because of so much corruption. It never gets to the people that need it and meanwhile people in this country suffer as well.

Overseas aid isn't always 'aid' - sometimes it will be tied to trade agreements, sometimes it will be support for charities and NGOs, sometimes it will be providing goods such as medicines, emergency supplies after earthquakes etc. A lot is designed to promote the UK's reputation, so isn't just giving money to foreign governments.

Another seemingly rushed announcement. This reduction should have been tied to an announcement about immigration. What had been done about the loophole allowing the Gazan family to come under the Ukrainian rule? I'm sick of hearing Yvette Cooper saying nothing.

I agree with cutting the aid budget and whilst I understand the need to increase defence spending it all seems to bring pushed very quickly and is now all of a sudden super urgent. Historically wars have suited governments and the powers that be. There's a lot of money to be made from it, sadly.

Aid is also a form of soft power in that it gives the UK influence and a presence in a wide range of countries, as well as a PP has said often part of a trade deal.

Take the BBC World Service - no doubt it costs a lot of money to fund but for decades it's provided a vital link between the UK and rest of the far-flung world.

I agree with Overseas Aid however it has been needed to have been looked at for s very long time.

On the subject of increasing the defence budget, that has been needed to be done for years, decades even. They were already running a very tight ship when David Cameron came in and slashed it right to the bone. People were made redundant, aircrafts were grounded overnight, never to be flown again and we were left with no aircraft carriers. DS1 joined the army almost 11yrs ago, his regiment is still waiting for the armoured vehicles they were promised before he even joined. General Sir Nick Carter said last week “we are a defenceless country” and it’s true.

The world is a very dangerous place atm. We don’t have enough service personnel, for every 3 that leave, 1 joins, and they don’t have enough equipment. The armed forces need the money. I was very pleased to hear the announcement yesterday.

I can understand Trump being annoyed at giving money to other countries now when you look at that list!

I thought Rachel Reeves said there was a huge black hole in finances.
Now, all of sudden, they can find the extra money.

Exactly this. With trade agreements such aid creates UK jobs and supports UK business.

The country’s finances are dire because of the heavy burden of welfare, social care and healthcare. In essence our population is very ageing and mentally/physically unhealthy, and the knock on effect is ruining the rest of the country.

I was really annoyed by it. Since USAID has pulled out of so many countries, UK aid is doubly needed. It’s so sad that politicians can’t even be bothered to make the case for development.

We’re all just supposed to take global inequality for granted, despite the fact that European powers used force and coercion to keep countries of the global South as raw materials suppliers, drastically stunting their ability to develop. Now many are on the front lines of climate change that again Europeans and Americans have historically had a much bigger responsibility for causing.

For those focussed on the UK NHS, some parts of the world have no healthcare, absolutely none. Where kids die of malnutrition or diahorrea.

There’s a self-serving dimension of development aid as well - that deepens links between countries. China’s Belt and Road programme has invested insanely in Africa’s infrastructure. It is literally reforging the world order through development aid. People have no idea how the demographics of the world are changing. Africa is the youngest continent and will rise as the West ages. The whole thing is very short-sighted.

I agree with cutting overseas aid.

The statement was ..slightly concerning. I think these statements are carefully crafted to give psychological nudges to the general population.

And I and trying to work out what this was was trying to do.

Jordan hosts the second-highest share of refugees per capita in the world. 1.3 million refugees, mostly from the Middle East, in a country with a population of 11 million. The aid payment probably was a contribution to the costs of that.

No, I don’t think it’s to appease Trump. It’s to manage him. And it needs to be done anyway as the US are no longer to be relied upon. When you divorce, you take on extra expenses.

the army will be pleased.
they have suffered terribly from cut backs

If the funds were directed by the foreign office I’d agree. Then they’d be tied to our overseas interests.

Maybe having to accept reality about the state of the uk and our place in the world order will also mean he doesn’t try to spend billions of our taxes on ‘reparations’.

I’m personally very happy with how things are working out now the US is telling our leaders to grow up and stop freeloading. It might be difficult but in the end we’ll have to live within our means and focus on actually making money if we want luxuries.