‘Robin Hood in Reverse’ — UK Foreign Aid Being Directed to Chinese Cities Wealthier Than Areas of Britain

Shanghai
Li Yang via Unsplash
Kurt Zindulka

Taxpayer-funded British foreign aid is being directed to areas of the world that are wealthier than some sections of the UK, including to fund projects in Communist China, a study found.

A report from the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) think tank has found that taxpayer money has been directed to aid projects in wealthy areas of countries like China, Mexico, and Malaysia.

While areas of Britain continue to languish with lack of investment, the IEA claimed that foreign aid was acting like “Robin Hood in reverse” and called on the government to “urgently re-evaluate” the priorities of international aid spending.

The report found that aid dolled out by the UK Official Development Assistance (ODA) has been directed over the past five years to fund arts, infrastructure, and tech projects in middle-class areas throughout the world, often in regions richer than parts of the UK.

According to the IEA, British taxpayer money funded a £200,000 project in the prosperous Chinese city of Shanghai to promote a traditional all-female opera through digital media. Another £200,000 project backed by the UK sought to “foster creativity in Chinese communities” in Shanghai, despite the city having a similar GDP per capita to leafy London suburbs like Redbridge and Waltham Forest.

The report found that the richest region to receive British taxpayer money was the Chinese city of Ordos, which is wealthier than 69 regions in the UK. Other relatively prosperous Chinese cities to receive aid included the capital Beijing, Guangzhou, and the Hong Kong-adjacent city of Shenzhen, which is richer than seven British regions.

Elsewhere, the UK taxpayer funded projects in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, which is wealthier than five UK regions, and the Mexican city of Campeche, which has a higher GDP per capita than 36 regions in Britain.

The think tank said that the reason for aid being directed towards relatively well-off areas of the world was likely a result of civil servants and aid workers preferring to locate themselves in areas with more comfortable living standards, better infrastructure, and more opportunities for professional networking.

The paper called for the International Development Act 2002, instituted under former Labour Party PM Tony Blair, to be amended so that foreign aid is only sent to regions with a £10,914 GDP per capita or below.

“This would prevent the recurrence of aid being sent to areas richer than the communities of UK taxpayers funding it,” the report argued.

Commenting on the findings, the report’s author, Mark Tovey, said: “Taxing hard-working people in left-behind Britain to fund projects in affluent regions abroad is a policy of Robin Hood in reverse, with aid money going to prosperous areas like Ordos in China or Campeche in Mexico — both of which are actually richer than large parts of the UK.

“We urgently need to re-evaluate our aid priorities to ensure that UK taxpayers’ money supports the world’s poorest, focusing on stamping out infectious diseases, ending hunger and genuinely lifting those in desperate need out of poverty.”

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