Re: £1.7 billion less to spend helping the UK
 

That's £11.5 billion! Actually, because selling drugs and prostitution now count as part of the GDP(???) it will probably be £12.5 billion!
Makes the £2 billion extra for the NHS seem small beer.
Our Tornadoes are that old and short of modernising and maintenance the RAF need a fleet of 8 to keep 2 in the air each day- and all 8 have to be worked on night and day.
Still, it's going to a good cause- foreign politicians Swiss bank accounts.
A good job it's only money and we can afford it.
Does anyone every ask the public what they want? Oh, sorry, I forgot we're a Democracy!

Re: £1.7 billion less to spend helping the UK
 

Have read in todays paper, The Lib-Dems want it inscribed in Law, that Foreign Aid cannot ever be reduced.:mad:

Re: £1.7 billion less to spend helping the UK
 

Is it me or our MPs who live in Cloud Cuckoo Land? As a country we have more often than not imported far more than we have exported, which means we do not have any money! The only cash the government in its coffers is borrowed from International Lenders.

As with most Brits, I have Toy Town Money in my bank as does every other ordinary person. We are all spending Toy Town Money every time we buy food, a car, a house, or furnishings for the house.

How can any British government which is living on loans think it's okay to give ANYTHING to foreigners who we know stashes it away in "off shore" banks.

There's 31 pages of bumph, and then you come to the nitty gritty of our massive Imports less our modest Export Values here:

http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/dcp171778_295724.pdf

Re: £1.7 billion less to spend helping the UK
 

It is easier now we have Monopoly money - one hand tremble on a key board adds a few noughts. That wasn't posible with £sd.
We also got cheated when they began to use percentages for pay rises. I recall when rises were announced in £sd. Percentage rises gives bigger increases to those who already have most.

World finance is a big Monopoly game - there are limits to how much governments dare to screw the population, because revolution is no longer a rare event. Those with most will lose most, and those with nothing have nothing to lose ;)