We must stand shoulder to shoulder with those who need us most. Not just because it is in our national interest, but because it is the right thing to do.
Plus: Don’t force MPs who are sick or shielding back to Parliament, Jacob. And: let’s divert aid money to seek a vaccine.
Hopefully it will be crisis averted, and we’ll have a bit more time to fix the hole. But sooner or later, difficult choices on tax and spending are coming.
Let’s use ever-increasing intelligence – and stop the flow of dirty money out of poor countries.
I was delighted to see your appointment. I confess to slight bias, given that you retweeted an article of mine calling for an end to ring-fencing of the aid budget.
Africa is home to 16 per cent of the world’s population, and this is set to double by 2050. Its GDP is expected to reach $3.2 trillion in the next five years.
DFID managed its portfolio with far greater efficiency than the Foreign Office. But it should improve how it aligns traditional aid objectives with Britain’s goals.
For the first time in decades the levers of British influence – defence, diplomacy, aid and trade – could sit alongside domestic efforts in education and infrastructure.
A separate department was right for the stable, hopeful 1990s. But the years have presented various challenges for which it is less well-suited.
Don’t expect Downing Street to bother too much about what MPs or the media think as it prepares to shake up government and Whitehall.
We should measure the success of our aid programmes by the good we achieve, not simply by the amount of money we spend.
The new Chancellor should stick to the basics of cutting taxes, spending more on education and rebalancing growth outside of London.
Which candidate can devise and push through the policies needed to unite the Tory shires with the Leave voters of the north?
He is the only candidate who can further the work of the project to which Esther McVey and I are so committed.
It’s so much more than charity: it bolsters our diplomacy and nurtures trading partners and military allies around the world.