Well, it’s July 6th and the first topical blog for common sense. Right on cue our Prime Minister has stated that yet more hundreds of millions of pounds of UK taxpayers money will be given away in foreign aid, this time to Afghanistan. This follows hot on the heels of pledges of £1.4 billion in aid to Pakistan (which recently spent a similar amount on the purchase of two squadrons of fighter planes from China) and several hundreds of millions of pounds to India (which is currently spending billions of pounds on its space exploration programme).

Aside from questioning how each recipient is actually going to spend our money are we not also entitled to ask how on earth the Government can actually spend money that it says we haven’t got? We are constantly being warned of the necessity of austerity measures and a general tightening of belts as cuts are made in the funding of vital public services such as Health, Education and the Police.

Something doesn’t quite add up does it? If the money is there then shouldn’t it be spent on relieving poverty and suffering in our country, shouldn’t it be used for example so that more police can walk our streets or so that poor old Mr Smith who has paid tax for the last 50 years can be admitted to a care home without having to sell his house. Charity begins at home Mr Cameron and in so saying we are not demonstrating “hard heartedness” as you recently stated. No, we are simply showing some common sense.