Calls growing to scrap 0.7% pledge on aid

BORIS Johnson is under pressure from Conservative Party supporters to scrap the UK commitment to spend 0.7 per cent of GDP on international aid.

A poll of more than 2,000 Tory voters by the think tank Conservative Progress has suggested that nine out of 10 want the £15billion a year commitment ditched.

Around 55 per cent think it should go altogether, while 36.6 per cent believe it should be reduced to a lower level.

Only six per cent support keeping it at 0.7 per cent, while a mere one per cent want it increased.

Meanwhile, two-thirds of those polled said they do not think the UK has a responsibility to poor countries.

The results come after the Prime Minister announced that he was merging the Department for International Development (DFID) and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO).

His decision appears to have been welcomed by members, with the survey showing support of 84 per cent.

Mr Johnson’s decision was based on his desire to link foreign aid with foreign policy goals and trade deals.

This was backed by 72 per cent of those polled in the Conservative Progress survey.

The think tank’s chairman Nabil Najjar said: “These results show strong backing for the increased use of DFID spending as a tool for promoting British interests.

“It is not charity, nor should it be seen as such. It is an investment in economic, political and social security abroad which pays dividends at home.”

The question of foreign aid has also been raised by backbenchers in recent weeks who highlighted that the Dfid has the highest average salary in Whitehall at almost £8,000 extra per employee.

North West Leicestershire MP Andrew Bridgen said: “Higher salaries does not seem to be about providing aid.

“You also have to ask why spending all this aid money is not reducing poverty in the world.”

‘Money is not reducing poverty’