Why I can't wait for us to end aid to developing countries

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Traditionally every Shadow Secretary of International Development has issued the same rallying cry: give them more money. There is general agreement that the government should increase the amount of aid they give to the developing world.

Let me say that I would like to be the first to buck that trend. I cannot wait for the day when we give absolutely nothing to developing countries in aid; after all, that will be the day when we finally achieve the development goals we have set ourselves over the last fifty years.

The British government has, for decades now, been pumping resources into international development, with little tangible effect. So what has gone wrong?

For the answer, read my latest article – for Public Service Review – over on my website!

0 thoughts on “Why I can't wait for us to end aid to developing countries”

  1. I agree completely with your analysis but it would be good to see some clear, ‘SMART’ suggestions for positive solutions to the problems which exist. Otherwise we might be accused of simply wringing our hands just like the other parties do.Certainly, tackling climate change is a key priority but that won’t help people this week, month or year.What about the issue of constructive ‘intervention’, as is being discussed with regard to Guyana’s rainforest?Anyway, it’s always reassuring to see our Parliamentarians giving international development the priority is needs.

  2. Pretty good article there.I do think that most commentators miss the vital things which Africa is crying out for – property rights and the freedom to trade.Without those, no amount of aid will relieve poverty sustainably.As the great Radical Richard Cobden pointed out, free trade is also a great promoter of peace.Why is Africa still poor yet poverty in Asia is declining at ever faster rates? Africa lacks the institutions of property rights and trade which Asia has been developing.Aid seems to me to be best deployed in disaster relief. That includes the terrible events of the AIDS epidemic which threatens the development of many African countries. The richer these countries get however, the better they will be able to deal with such problems (and with climate change), but they present a near insurmountable barrier to development today.

  3. Lynne, you are not the “Shadow Secretary of State on ID” – Andrew Mitchell is! Ask the Speaker if you don’t believe me. You are just the Lib Dem spokesman on ID.