to think that overseas aid should be diverted to those affected by the flooding

[Ohbehave1]

What the title says really. Especially from places like india who can afford a space program and nuclear power

Not goady at all - I posted a link to the recently set up 50m fund for victims of the storms - each can claim up to £5000 in addition to the council tax relief (and insurance pay outs)

I have no doubt those effected are going through hell and they have my utmost sympathy - but I don't think it has anything to do with the aid budget - despite what Mr Farage keeps banging on about

Lots of people struggle financially - these people have been given £50m in aid :)

Try to ignore the ignoramuses hidden Their lack of understanding and compassion is their problem not yours.

I'm a public servant. My "massive bonus" would be of no use for aid purposes, as not only do I not get any bonus (despite getting performance ratings meriting the highest rate of performance related pay for the past two years), I also haven't had a cost of living rise for the past five years. Stop blaming the public sector.

OP you have yet to illustrate how much money you think is needed and how you think it's should be spent

you are very aggressive and very good at trying to show you care more than those who disagree with you but it's hard to understand your argument when you don't say - despite people asking, what aid you think IS needed that isn't being provided?

It's hard to discuss when you wont do more than point score and get cross

I'm in York and while my house is likely to be fine, I already know of several children from our primary school whose homes have been flooded. And while this is terrible, people are working together as a community to help each other out as much as they can. So actually, I think it's pretty disgusting to use our problems as an excuse to avoid our obligations to others.

As bad as the floods are no one is starving.

Hidden agree this will cause deaths. Heart attacks due to stress, disease due to the dirty water...

Bloody hell, if this is the attitude of people in the UK towards their fellow citizens who are in real dire straits I give up.

No amount of money will erase the trauma they're currently experiencing. They'll still have to live in their worthless houses and sit waiting for it to happen again due to inadequate infrastructure and management of the land and lack of defences.

People will be saying it's their fault for living where they do next

Well said Jasper - my cousin is just up the road from Hebden Bridge - he was supposed to be meeting us tomorrow for a family get together but is staying to help out - he would agree 100% x

It's far more political than you're making it. It's not a case of stopping aid and redistributing that money. The government doesn't offer aid because it's nice, theres a lot of incentives and conditions.

On a very basic level, stopping overseas aid to help flood victims and prevent small businesses there from having to close and sacking people could very well lead to other UK businesses that depend on the aids contracts going out of business, and those people lose their jobs, too.

There's also the agreements with other countries...

Its an interesting debate but you really can't water it down to be home or abroad support. Even just working out what ratio of support there should be is very difficult and nuanced.

YANBU OP. totally agree, and about what yuou say about India.

and YY HiddenHomes post at 17;33.

You are being VVU and don't really understand the way "internation aid" works, mostly it works in our favour, kind of you scratch my back I'll scratch yours.

The fact that there will be £5,000 of aid on top of whatever insurance is paid out is fine. You can't stop foriegn aid and you certainly can't stop the stuff that is paid out to those in life or death crisis. There are people in the north who are having a very very tough time, I wouldn't compare them to refugees, the oppressed or those in absolute poverty.

What this posts shows is a high level of both xenephobia and ignorance.

And you people are ignorant about what happens when a house is flooded and what can happen to the inhabitants.

Of course, we could vote in a government that actually priorities spending on infrastructure and flood defences, and has a planning policy that doesn't involve building on flood plains. But we didn't. Just as we voted in a government that slashed social care spending, so the elderly and vulnerable could be left without assistance in mouldy, wrecked homes, as a pp pointed out. We are collectively to blame for this. Redirecting the already paltry overseas aid budget won't save us from ourselves but might mean some poor sod overseas dies of malnutrition or a preventable disease.

I work in insurance and agree, insurance isn't the answer for many affected by the awful flooding. The excesses are prohibitively expensive, even if the premiums are affordable, assuming you can even get cover. Flood Re is not the answer IMO. Insurance should be a last resort for managing risk.

And £5,000 on top of no insurance?

Our two bedroomed house cost around £60,000 to put right. That was after three foot of water in the house for around seven hours. Nothing compared to what the current people are having to cope with.

Becker - you agree about India? Which doesn't actually receive aid from us any more?

As usual, some people are more keen to moan about furriners getting our taxes than acquainting themselves with facts. Like the basic fact that so-called "aid" is basically our government's way of cynically ensuring its interests abroad and nothing to do with actually helping poor people. It's not aid, it's a bribe or, to put it in a more sanitised way, an investment.

Of course, we could vote in a government that actually priorities spending on infrastructure and flood defences, and has a planning policy that doesn't involve building on flood plains. But we didn't. Just as we voted in a government that slashed social care spending, so the elderly and vulnerable could be left without assistance in mouldy, wrecked homes

^^This,

Ghosty

How much? More than £5,000 that's for sure. Have you not read other posts or are you just here for a fight. £10,000 excess on flood insurance. And some that can't afford the insurance in the first place. I don't have the exact figure - I guess I could do so research to satisfy you - but to be honest I can't be bothered for someone that obviously has no empathy or ability to see what the long term problems may be.

For some it will result in the expense of having to move to new rented accommodation which will cost, and for others their houses will lose any value they have.

And it's great that there is community spirit and people will help each other out. But will that help then financially. No it won't. In 4 weeks time when the floods have subsided ( I hope) people will have forgotten. But the struggle for those affected will continue.

And the people that have mentioned those that will suffer because they can't afford to get remedial work carried out have a point. People will die because of this for time to come but I guess that is of no concern because we are rich in the uk.

Agree with you OP

Longtime. I never once said stop all aid. Just divert some. Because for some it will result in absolute poverty. And homelessness.

Xenophobia. Not at all. Just wanting to make sure that those that are hardest hit here in the uk are not forgotten and left to struggle by on their own.

Hidden homes - so support can only be extended to "fellow citizens", who have the same nationality as you?

One can support the citizens of Cumbria and elsewhere affected by flooding AND the citizens of other countries in dire straits. The two are not mutually exclusive. Flooding is awful, I wouldn't wish it on my worse enemy. But so is war and famine.

The ignorance on here is astounding. As I said to the OP, let's hope you never have to rely on overseas aid through no fault or your own. The citizens of the country might run out of compassion before they can help you.

Community spirit, the army, mountain rescue etc. disappears after a few days.

Oh and the muddy water stinks and is full of infection. Your house is filled with the stuff. We fell ill afterwards. I phoned to GP to see if we should be concerned about it and he laughed and patronisingly told me not to worry as it was just surface water

People have no fucking idea

I'm not at all ignorant about what happens to flooded houses and families, to suggest that we use the foriegn aid budget to fix this problem is ignorant of what foreign aid goes towards and those that it helps.

Its funny that mumsnet is one of the places that benefits bashing goes on at a high level, but when people are in trouble because of something that they couldn't control they start suggesting government handouts.

Tell you what, why don't we actually get one of the 5 big banks, who collectively paid no corportation tax this year to actually contribute to the society they benefit from?

But no you select the poorest to take from, beacuse you don't understand economics at all.

There is no intention of helping both sets of people

Overseas aid aka bribery must not be upset at any cost, people have described this as being the case. A delicate political balance which must be maintained at all costs.

Flood defences will be talked about of course. There'll be meetings and what not, but nothing will happen. It's all been talked about before. Local councils won't be able to afford to improve things, the government will put the responsibility onto them and the environment agency who are notoriously stupid and incompetent.

JeffreysMummyIsCross

I don't agree with the contention that the foreign aid budget should be cut. I think it's essential we do our bit to help eradicate poverty overseas. However, I do also appreciate the frustration lots of people experience when we in the North are constantly at the sharp end of Government funding in the UK. I grew up in a mining town and after the Tories kicked out the miners they did nothing at all to assure the financial future of the town. People have the right to ask questions about funding and it's childish and reductive of you to talk about people resenting 'furriners.' People are actually going without food, over a hundred thousand children are homeless this Christmas there is fuck all social mobility in the UK. I care about overseas problems but I care about people in my home town too.