I don’t agree with the aid cut but understand the government’s predicament

I am very remiss at servicing my car. Mainly because I’m trying to be prudent with my money, so I’ve decided it’s not a priority compared with my mortgage and other bills.

The problem is that because I have taken the decision not to service it, it ends up costing me more in the long run.

Our lives as charity leaders are full of decisions.

Big ones, small ones, middlingly awful ones – and whatever decision we make, someone will object or find fault in it.

It makes it quite tough, but it is part of the gig and what we are paid for.

So it’s with that in mind that I think about the really difficult decisions the government has to make.

The sector is currently up in arms about the cut to foreign aid in favour of defence spending.

Rightly so. All of our arguments about why it’s a bad idea are good and right.

But that’s the challenge. When my decisions at work are pulled to bits, most of the arguments are right when taken in isolation. But I have to make a choice.

Our government faces an unreliable ally, the real threat of a destabilised Europe because of Russian aggression, and a horribly depleted armed service, both in personnel and equipment.

The decision on defence spending had to be fast, because we have to try to keep the Americans on board without crashing Ukraine, Nato, etc, and to show that Europe can step up.

Now you can argue about alternatives like wealth taxes, or undoing the triple lock or taxation increases, or changing the rules on borrowing, but that’s not the quick fix that was needed – and is politically very risky.

Do I agree with the decision to cut aid?

No. But I do agree that we need to spend more on defence as a matter of urgency.

So where to take the money from then? The NHS? So no change to waiting lists or numbers of clinical staff or access to treatment.

Social care? So people are still stuck in hospital beds.

Education? None of the Stem teachers we so desperately need.

Welfare? So no disability benefits and a cut to pensions.

Charities? So no access to employment support services or debt advice.

You see the challenge. When it comes to state spending, for the past decade or so we haven’t been servicing the car.

The NHS engine is making dodgy noises; the social care tyre is worn thin; the defence cambelt is squeaking terrifyingly loudly.

The reality is that all the stuff we should have been maintaining we haven’t been and now we are dealing with a car that doesn’t work properly.

We don’t have the money to buy a new one so we are faced with deciding what to fix first.

And the car mechanics don’t agree on which matters most.

So we have to make the decision in the face of competing arguments. And many folk won’t agree with us. That’s the challenge for the government right now.

But, it’s not our challenge.

So even understanding the horrible situation that they are in is not a subliminal message for us to give up.

The argument for better alternatives is still there to be made, in all our cause areas. Including a restoration of international aid to its legal target of 0.7 per cent.

And remember to service your car!

This article was originally published on the Third Sector website, take a look here.