Ukip is a party searching for a purpose. In recent weeks, its focus has been on Islam. Now, it has hit on a new ruse to try and win over voters: going after Britain’s foreign aid budget. The party has said it will scrap the 0.7 per cent spending commitment put into law by David Cameron. Like it or not, it’s a popular move – with the millions spent on unwise projects, such as those in North Korea, doing little to endear a sceptical public to the cause of foreign aid. Hundreds of thousands of people signed a petition last year calling for cuts to the aid budget. Polls paint a similar picture of how many feel strongly opposed to the way in which Britain spends its money abroad: a survey carried out earlier this year revealed that as many as 78 per cent of voters wanted cuts to Britain’s £12.4bn annual aid budget.
Ukip’s policy will also hit the pulse in the press. The Telegraph, the Sun, and more recently the Mail, in particular, have all used their editorials to campaign against the current spending pledge. For a party of dwindling means, picking a policy which will go down well with the newspapers is a smart move. But is it a winning strategy?
To see why it might not be, it’s worth looking at the Tories’ own thinking on the subject. Last month, the government appeared to be wavering on keeping the 0.7 per cent pledge. In an interview with the Sun, the PM refused to commit to the promise. Yet just two days later, May had had a change of heart, telling an audience on her home turf in Maidenhead that the pledge would stand. It seemed that worries about how slashing the foreign aid budget would sit with May’s battle to rid the Conservatives of their ‘nasty party’ label won over. How ditching foreign aid commitments would look to other countries trying to interpret Britain’s priorities in the wake of the Brexit vote was also likely to have been a key consideration.
Ukip has no such qualms. And the Conservatives’ refusal to budge has at last created some wiggle room for Ukip to draw breath. Now that the Tories have repossessed Brexit from their old adversaries, Ukip will be hoping today’s policy can win over some Tory voters. The party rightly points out that they are the only ones offering a debate on foreign aid to voters (as well as the equally tabloid-friendly targeting of the licence fee). Inevitably, there are some Tories who will be convinced by Ukip’s policy and now back them at the ballot box come June 8th. Among Tory MPs there were some who spoke of their disappointment at the government’s decision to keep the target. Plenty of Tory voters will share their sentiments, and Paul Nuttall is clearly hoping today’s announcement will be the pledge which can eat into the Tory vote. Yet there’s a risk, too. This type of policy will do little to convince voters who haven’t backed Ukip before that the party is softening its image. It seems that in this snap election, the party is going for broke.
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