Sugg resigns over UK aid cut mid-JMC meeting
(CNS): Britain’s Foreign Office minister responsible for the overseas territories has quit the job in protest at the Conservative government’s decision to cut its overseas aid budget. Baroness Sugg, who was also responsible for sustainable development, resigned in the middle of this week’s virtual Joint Ministerial Council with leaders of the UK’s territories, including the Cayman Islands.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak has announced a £5 billion cut as part of the spending review initiated because of the economic emergency faced by Britain as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
This was a step too far for the OT minister, who wrote to Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday, saying it was “fundamentally wrong” to abandon the commitment made by the British government to spend 0.7% of gross national income in the world’s poorest countries. The cut would see that reduced to 0.5%.
Johnson said he was “very sorry” to receive her resignation.
Sugg addressed the overseas territories on Monday via video link at the JMC, which is due to wrap up tomorrow.
.
Category: Local News
Why are so many commenters confused by this? The UK overseas aid budget is an incredible $18bn a year and goes to developing and war torn countries, NOT Cayman. In fact they couldn’t legally give any to Cayman even if they wanted to. It has been cut to $13bn. This doesn’t affect Cayman in any way. Sugg the minister for Overseas Territories has resigned in protest. Another minister will be appointed for Overseas Territories. This probably won’t affect Cayman in any way either.
Again, it seems like Cayman and other OT’s have more to fear from our own “Mother Country” than from a Democrat administration in the USA!
How does she justify being a baroness? Seems inconsistent.
Shame we never got Screaming Lord Sutch when he was alive.
Maybe we should register the Monster Raving Looney Party here for the elections.
VOTE LOONEY!
I don’t blame the Baroness if i had to listen to this Farce i would resign too, bunch egotistical males looking to GP for being loyal stooges!
How might this affect our supply of Waitrose and Tesco goodies?
Not at all.
Cayman doesn’t get any UK overseas aid. This has nothing to do with Cayman! Even BVI didn’t get any after Irma! Cut to the excessive overseas aid budget was long overdue.
Many do not properly understand that the Cayman Islands receives quid-pro-quo financial aid, via the dependent territorial association, preferential credit worthiness, and advantageous borrowing rates that stem from the implicit motherland financial backstop, guaranteeing our loans. Extending to us their AA credit rating and guarantee, does not cost either of us anything, until our moment of default, and/or faux-independence saber-rattling. Both are aggravations that our local regimes seem keen to accelerate towards, seemingly blind to the debt burden they’ve heaped onto the public’s collective backs. From sizable surplus reserves in late 1990s, to a couple Billion+ in actual booked debt, unfunded pension and healthcare liabilities, plus another $300mln credit line…just this year. The Unity regime would have liked to have taken on another billion in special capital project debt this year, if were only to have been allowed to.
What is Cayman’s credit rating then? It seems you have a microscope trying to find some benefits to the UK/Cayman relationship. Not necessary. We are here by choice (out of fear for our local geniuses). But please, stop with the idiocy. You gain a lot more from us. Just look around to see the economic refugees turning up in growing numbers and you will see clearly.
Please don’t tell me that Sugg is just learning that some governments/countries are more than willing to abandon their commitments.
Some governments/countries have a history of abandoning their commitments.
Just because one pledges money every year does not mean you are committed. Expecting the money to be handed out every year probably means you should be committed, as in padded cell committed.
Only 7 countries give more than the UK. It shouldn’t be cut temporarily, it should be cut permanently. Why, for example, give money to India while they run a space programme? It is up to the Indian government to fund social welfare and education not the UK. This money is frequently spent poorly and even open to corruption.
The Indian economy has now overtaken the UK and is now 5th largest.
Seriously George? Sometimes I worry about you..
Good on ya Boris, take care of your own first. Countries and territories and people that rely on handouts will not make plans to become more resilient. The handouts are expected year after year and never diminish. To those who say this is a loss to Cayman I say we need to help ourselves. The motherland can’t afford, nor should it be coddling OTs that are supposed to mature enough to understand what it means to be independent.
We have much more to do on becoming mature enough to be an actual sovereign nation, but that’s up to us and our elected leaders. This has little to do with the UK but has a lot to do with the maturity and resilience of our own people. We can’t hope to transform into a country if our leaders don’t lead by example.
Cayman does receive UK Overseas Aid. This has nothing to do with us other than Sugg resigning over it. BOT’s aren’t on the whole eligible for aid its for poor 3rd world countries!
Tell that to Sugg. She does not seem to know the difference between a genuine commitment and a PR stunt.
Get ready for it Cayman..You say you don’t want independence, but you better start thinking that way and preparing for it. This is the start of it and more is to come….Cayman is in a downward spiral with a useless government that has their head so far up the UK government’s ass that they can’t see the forest for the trees..
Listen arse hole the only ones in a down spiral is the likes of all you that need to leave us before we shove you out bodily
Oh, good, now we can get an actual minister dealing with our affairs instead of this lightweight.
Message to Baroness Sugg – ‘Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out!’ The UK’s overseas aid budget has been lining the pockets of corrupt politicians in third world countries for way too long, it’s time to put the brakes on it.
Except that cutting the total spend does nothing to correct how the money is actually spent. Or, to put it another way there is a 0.2% reduction in the money ” lining the pockets of corrupt politicians in third world countries”. So if that’s your problem, you still have a problem.
Wow a politician with a conscience!
I am quite surprised we were still getting any funding at all ! But I wouldn’t worry our magic PPM will find a way to finance all our schools, public sector etc with a slight increase of the work permit “fees” , business “licences” !
We don’t get funding for those types of projects and have not for over a half century!
We don’t!