MAPPERTON peer John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich, wants to see aid as an election issue.

He said the tragedy of drowning migrants, and now the earthquake in Nepal, has caught the public’s attention, reminding people of the extent of poverty and injustice in the world.

The Earl, who has been a member of Christian Aid for more than 40 years, said: “It is not yet an election issue, but reactions to it show that there is a body of opinion in Britain that has not been expressed during the election campaign, even though it may well represent a majority of electors: and that is the aid vote.

“Supporters of aid recently won major victories through the Coalition this year in the International Development Act, which fixes the aid target, and the Modern Slavery Act. But the only mention of aid in the election has been the negative view offered by UKIP.

“Until recently governments have not been particularly keen on aid, and still less on ring-fencing the aid budget. I personally welcome the fact that the aid agencies have become more outspoken and that there has been growing support for human rights issues.

“Anyone who lives in west Dorset knows that there is a strong humanitarian tradition here.”

He said public attitudes to aid could be dated back to the Vietnam War and the Indo-China refugee crisis of the late 1970s and the Ethiopian famine of 1984-85 was another landmark.

He added: “I remember the Indo-China crisis well because 1974 was the year I joined Christian Aid. Christian Aid is 70 this year, two years younger than me. As the official aid agency of the British Council of Churches, it began - like Oxfam - as an initiative of the churches during the Second World War in response to the massive refugee crisis in Europe.

“It never had the popular appeal of single-issue agencies like Save the Children, which was founded a generation earlier. But through solid refugee and development work around the world it gradually secured the support of the general public, whether they attended church or not."