Chancellor Rishi Sunak concluded on Wednesday that Britain's economic emergency "has only just begun”
Source - Daily Telegraph - 25/11/20
It was a sobering statement from Chancellor Rishi Sunak in the House of Commons on Wednesday as he announced that Britain's “economic emergency has only just begun” following projections that suggest that the country's economy will contract by 11.3 per cent.
Included in the Chancellor’s Spending Review statement were a number of pledges to rebuild the economy and to help the unemployed find work. But there were also cuts that will be needed to fund spending, such as a partial public sector pay freeze and a foreign aid spending cut.
Telegraph readers have had their say on the Chancellor’s Spending Review, with many supporting Mr Sunak’s plan to cut the overseas aid budget.
Read on to see what your fellow readers have had to say and then share your thoughts in the comments section at the bottom of this article.
‘There isn’t a magic money tree’
@Dale Carmichael:
“I'm not sure why there's such surprise over this economic data, there really isn't a magic money tree.
“We need to end the lockdown as soon as possible. Vaccinate the vulnerable and let us get on with life and rebuilding the economy.”
‘Why is the foreign aid cut only temporary?’
@Gareth Hopkins:
“Why is the foreign aid cut only temporary?
“The stats the Chancellor stated show our largesse, we should be allocating much closer to the average of other countries i.e. 0.38 per cent permanently.”
‘The public sector believes it has an inalienable right to a pay rise'
@Scaramouche Dothefandango:
“Referring to a public sector pay rise being paused, Rishi Sunak surely means stopped?
“There is no justification for a public sector pay rise at all, even the front line as great as they were.
"We are allegedly all in this together but the private sector has been hammered and the public sector believes it has an inalienable right to a pay rise. I despair at the attitude of the public sector.”
‘The foreign aid budget is not fit for purpose’
@Stuart Priest:
“Foreign aid should be abolished and replaced with a foreign disaster fund.
“The foreign aid budget is not fit for purpose, hence we hear of paying for the Ethiopian Spice Girls and giving money to India while they develop their space program.”
“Let’s mandate common sense as a priority for this country from now onwards.”
‘Cuts to the aid budget should be spent on projects in the UK’
@Brian Basford:
“Most ordinary folk have been saying for years that it's all very well to give money to foreign aid but not until or before you have looked after your own people.
“If cuts to the aid budget are to be spent on projects here in the UK then I'm all for that.”
‘Foreign aid should be for emergency and disaster relief’
@The Hypertension Kid
“If we do have to donate 0.5 per cent to foreign aid, without any public choice in the matter, perhaps we should ensure that all of the costs involved in management through to delivery, are included in that figure.
“A seriously large portion should also be held in continual reserve for emergency and disaster relief, the one area where the majority probably wouldn't mind it being spent.”
‘All public sector works should have got a pay freeze’
@Alternative Thinker:
“Overseas aid should have gone down to 0.35 per cent of GDP and all public sector workers should have got a pay freeze for the next three years.
“Those in the private sector in hospitality on minimum wage are getting 20 per cent pay cuts if there are lucky to be on furlough and others have or will lose their jobs.”
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