Britain’s bloated foreign aid budget would be better spent on cash-strapped public services like the NHS

BRITAIN’S generosity to the rest of the world has long been a luxury the country cannot afford.

Our bloated foreign aid budget last year swelled to a gobsmacking £13.34billion — rising by ten per cent, five times faster than the UK’s economic growth.

Meanwhile figures out today reveal record numbers of GP practices had to shut their doors in 2016, forcing more than a quarter of a million patients to switch surgery.

And the number of ambulances diverted from oversubscribed A&Es doubled this winter compared with the previous three years.

The NHS is creaking under the weight of a rapidly growing population, living longer with more complex health problems.

Our social care system is coming apart at the seams and schools are struggling to raise enough cash to keep the lights on.

Any half-competent politician would put these shocking, time-critical issues at the top of their spending priorities.

Yet thanks to a nonsensical law, pushed by David Cameron for selfish PR purposes, the Government is forced to spend 0.7 per cent of the national income on foreign handouts.

Even if every penny of taxpayers money ploughed into the International Development budget were spent wisely — and we know much of it is frittered away on private consultants and hare-brained schemes — the billions would still be better used on cash-strapped public services here in the UK.

Healing those at home must come before trying to heal the world.

Start fuming

FAR from an “awkward neighbour”, Britain regularly abides by Brussels regulations other EU countries gleefully ignore – to our huge cost.

So Brits have weekly bin collections slashed to reach EU recycling targets, while the rest of Europe carries on chucking out rubbish regardless.

And EU countries close their borders to migrants, while Britain is reprimanded for wanting control over immigration.

Now a group of MPs have urged the PM to defy EU air pollution rules until a scheme is in place that doesn’t unfairly penalise diesel drivers.

The likes of France and Germany have also been told to lower their nitrogen oxide levels, but only British diesel owners are facing the crippling cocktail of “toxin taxes” that will hit struggling families and small business owners.

Theresa May has said she wants to help drivers conned into buying diesels by a Labour Government acting on bad science.

She can start by ignoring the EU’s phoney deadlines.