Eamonn Holmes outraged as guest says cut pensions not foreign aid to fund schools

GB News panel

Eamonn Holmes clashed with co-star Albie Amankona about the foreign aid budget

GB NEWS
Alex Davies

By Alex Davies


Published: 05/09/2023

- 09:11

Updated: 05/09/2023

- 16:02

With a number of Britain's schools in dire need of repair, there has been plenty of debate as to where the money will come from

Eamonn Holmes and Isabel Webster welcomed Conservative councilor Matthew Goodwin-Freeman and GB News presenter Albie Amankona to debate the issue on Tuesday's Breakfast.

Matthew was firmly in the camp that foreign aid should be cut after approximately £11billion was spent on foreign aid last year while Alby insisted foreign aid actually benefits the UK.


Kicking off the debate, Eamonn said: "Britain spent £11billion on foreign aid last year and with schools becoming another expense, where are we going to get the money from to put the schools right? Is it time to cut foreign aid?"

Albie "strongly disagreed" with the idea of funneling foreign aid money into fixing schools as he branded it "short-sighted".

"It [foreign aid] increases security in parts of the world where we're seeing these refugees -" Albie continued before he was cut off by Eamonn who protested: "Why is this our problem?"

"It's our problem, Eamonn, because we have people crossing the channel to get to the UK coming from parts of the world which are not secure -" Albie replied before Eamonn interjected again.

"But if we didn't have a foreign aid budget we'd have more for a defence budget to keep them out," Eamonn suggested which again, Albie didn't agree with.

"No, because if we didn't have a foreign aid budget... one-third of the foreign aid budget last year was spent on hosting refugees in the United Kingdom. We have to find that money to host those refugees," Albie answered which seemed to shock Eamonn.

He turned to Matthew and repeated: "The foreign aid budget is actually spent here on refugees.""The point is we're sending money to India who have just put a rocket on the moon," Matthew weighed in. "We're sending money to China who have one of the largest economies in the world.

"We're sending money to places where quite frankly they don't need our money - we've been taking for mugs," Matthew emphatically said.

But Albie didn't sway although he conceded "not all the foreign aid budget is spent in the right way" and agreed the money shouldn't be targeted at the likes of India and China.

"The idea that we should not be sending foreign aid to anybody in the world when there are plenty of countries (that need help) -" Albie tried to protest before he was cut off once more.

Eamonn cut in as he quizzed: "But Albie, what country do you live in? This one is broke! This country's broke, who's gonna send us money?"

"We have more than enough money that we spend -" Albie replied before Eamonn pointed out: "Then why have we got homelessness? Why have we got drug problems? Why have we got unemployment? Why have we got these schools that we can't rebuild?

"So that was very nice while it lasted but now it's time to spend it here!" Eamonn protested, prompting Albie to try and clarify: "We're spending money in the wrong places, Eamonn."

He continued: "The biggest spend is the triple lock on pensions, that's the biggest outgoing-"

But Eamonn took issue with the suggestion pensions were too vast an expenditure as he hit back: "Oh yeah, so we'll just let our pensioners starve and die after working all the years of their lives, so we'll just give it away to some girl band in Africa then."

Isabel then interjected to explain Albie's point as the panel began to talk over one another as she explained: "Albie was just finishing his point there about wealthy pensioners often being millionaires so perhaps people should forego their pensions in those instances."

Eamonn was clearly unimpressed, however, before Isabel moved the discussion back onto the foreign aid cuts the country has already experienced over the past few years.

While Matthew recognised the decline in the foreign aid budget, he did point out it was still a "pretty penny" at approximately £12billion that the UK is spending.

He then passionately claimed: "Let's put Britain first! Let's build more hospitals, build new schools, fill those job vacancies - why are we spending money on countries that spending rockets to the other side of the moon?

"Or countires that have terrible human rights records like China - we are utterly not focused on this country. Let's fix the problems here before we try and fix everyone elses."

Albie

GB News presenter Albie clashed with Eamonn

GB NEWS

Albie concluded the debate by attempting to "dispel the myth" that spending money in other countries "is not beneficial" to the UK before a fiery clash with Eamonn ensued when he reiterated that a third of the international aid budget is spent in this country.

"I'm not stupid mate, I'm not stupid, I understand why the money is spent in the UK, but what is it spent on?" Eamonn cut in. "It's spent on housing migrants and illegal immigrants!"

When Albie weighed back in to try and divert attention towards pensioners and the fact that "22 percent" are millionaires, Eamonn had enough: "Stop talking about pensioners!

"When you're old and you've got to pay for a carer and you've got to pay for a Zimmerframe and things - stop stigmatising old people!"

"Stop stigmatising the international aid budget!" Albie hit back but Eamonn defended: "I think I will actually."

With the panel clearly in disagreement, the debate drew to a rather tense close as Eamonn and Isabel asked viewers to get involved and send their views in.

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