YouGov’s most recent polling shows that 60% of the British public think too much of their taxes are being spent on foreign aid. Polling has consistently shown this to be the public’s view for a long time. When, under pressure from campaigners, the question was rephrased to ask voters what they thought more money should be spent on, only 2% said foreign aid. By far the greatest margin, 3 out of 5 voters think too much is spent on foreign aid and only 1 in 50 think too little is spent. When you consider Britain is borrowing money on international markets to send the same oversees, you can understand why the public isn’t keen.

Guido accepts that emergency aid is a moral imperative when famine, floods or earthquakes occur. However foreign aid without end is a recipe for dependency and corruption.