Giving is good, but it has to be smart — and Priti Patel is the perfect choice to look after our foreign aid budget
The cosy relationship between the Government and the aid industry has gone on far too long
WHEN Priti Patel became International Development Secretary last year, some said it was like putting a fox in charge of a hen coop — because she’d spent her career attacking wasteful foreign aid.
But that’s exactly why she was the perfect choice to look after the £13billion-a-year aid budget.
The cosy relationship between the Government and the aid industry has gone on for too long. The taxpayer has been treated as a cash cow who’ll keep coughing up more dosh.
No one wants to stop giving aid. As one of the wealthiest countries on earth, it’s our duty to help the poorest.
But only where we can make a real difference and only when they can’t help themselves.
Sometimes that means emergency aid. Sometimes it’s investing in longer-term projects.
What drives people mad is when we send our hard-earned cash to the likes of China and India, whose economies are thriving and whose leaders should take responsibility for their own problems.
Or when we spend money on what Priti Patel rightly calls “bonkers” projects such as pop bands or fish sanctuaries.
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Priti Patel has made a real impact already in just nine months. If she keeps it up, she’s going to emerge as a key figure in the new government.
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