UKIP MP Says The Party Would Slash Britain's Overseas Aid Budget By 80%

Douglas Carswell, UKIP MP for Clacton, has suggested that his party would slash the Overseas Aid budget by £9 billion in order to cut the deficit:

@iainmartin1 £9Billion in overseas aid would cut the deficit by 10% in one go. A good start....

- Douglas Carswell MP (@DouglasCarswell) December 3, 2014

Overseas aid spending is currently ringfenced by the Coalition. Explaining his decision Prime Minister David Cameron has claimed that protecting the overseas aid budget is key not only for reasons of compassion but also for Britain's national interest.

As he said in a 2011 article in The Guardian:

"So it is in our national interest not just to deal with the symptoms of conflict when they arise, but also to prevent that conflict by addressing the underlying causes - poverty, disease and lack of opportunity...That is why I believe we are right to protect our aid budget."