David Cameron

[Foxholer]

Surely if that happened with one month's rain, a forward thinking politician, given the issues with global warming and climate change, would have considered what needed to be done to prevent a repetition or at least lessen the impact. What exactly has he done? No one's expecting him to control the rain, but it's not unreasonable to expect him to learn from history.

Seems far too sensible!

Government politicians only ever think to the next election cycle. Global Warming/Climate Change doesn't really feature, though must be addressed imo.

And the EA's plans actually seemed to have worked - within the constraints of what their Budget allowed them to.
It's just that they weren't allowed to Budget/plan for the amount of rain etc that has occurred - in certain areas particularly.
Whether that's because the politicians didn't allow them to - in an economic trough - or the Agency didn't argue strongly enough for the 'right amount of funding' is an issue for later.

The way I see the 'Rules' working, farmland is always going to be sacrificed for the needs of homes and populated areas.

Flooding in far more than 'the usual places' around me.

As for learning from history.....:rofl:

 

[SocketRocket]

Surely if that happened with one month's rain, a forward thinking politician, given the issues with global warming and climate change, would have considered what needed to be done to prevent a repetition or at least lessen the impact. What exactly has he done? No one's expecting him to control the rain, but it's not unreasonable to expect him to learn from history.

I live in Worcestershire and we experience the river Severn flooding annually, it always has this time of year. The EA has spend a lot of money on flood defences in the area and they have been extremely effective in areas like Bewdley, Worcester and Upton upon Severn. There are not funds available to set up defences in areas that do not flood like these on a regular basis. We have experienced unprecedented rain recently, it is not proven that this is a climate change or global warming issue, the Jet Stream seems to be an influencing factor and the experts don't understand why it has moved the way it has this year.

In my opinion its wrong to blame Cameron personally for the floods, Nature is too powerful for us to control, there have always been unpredictable natural disasters beyond our control and there always will be.

 

[Blue in Munich]

Cameron wants all the credit for things that go right, in my book that makes him culpable for things that were preventable. As for funds not being available……..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-giving-millions-aid-India-don-t-want-it.html

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Cameron wants all the credit for things that go right, in my book that makes him culpable for things that were preventable. As for funds not being available……..

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/art...-giving-millions-aid-India-don-t-want-it.html

Dave has now told us that money is no object and whatever can or needs to be done to help will be done. Really? That's seems to me to be quite an open-ended commitment. Or was he talking about in future rather than now. I think it was now. Seems a rather silly thing to say as nobody will believe him.

 

[Fish]

I live in Worcestershire and we experience the river Severn flooding annually, it always has this time of year. The EA has spend a lot of money on flood defences in the area and they have been extremely effective in areas like Bewdley, Worcester and Upton upon Severn. There are not funds available to set up defences in areas that do not flood like these on a regular basis. We have experienced unprecedented rain recently, it is not proven that this is a climate change or global warming issue, the Jet Stream seems to be an influencing factor and the experts don't understand why it has moved the way it has this year.

In my opinion its wrong to blame Cameron personally for the floods, Nature is too powerful for us to control, there have always been unpredictable natural disasters beyond our control and there always will be.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

View attachment 9103

So do I

 

[Dodger]

So do I

Me three but don't stop that getting in the way of an excuse to bash a politician for something he/they do not deserve to be blamed for.

 

[MegaSteve]

In my opinion its wrong to blame Cameron personally for the floods, Nature is too powerful for us to control, there have always been unpredictable natural disasters beyond our control and there always will be.

'Ooncle' Eric is quite happy to lay all the blame quite firmly at the welly clad feet of Lord Smith....

 

[SocketRocket]

'Ooncle' Eric is quite happy to lay all the blame quite firmly at the welly clad feet of Lord Smith....

Lord Smith! Now you are getting closer. IMO he is a lefty EU sycophant who with his Quango has been committed to their policy of protecting Water Voles and Wading Birds at the expense of peoples homes and businesses by returning moorland and low lying coastal areas to wetlands. The Environment Agency is full of Green Yoghurt Knitting Dreamers like him. And as I mentioned in another thread, his budget was increased for 2014 not cut.

 

[Blue in Munich]

I live in Worcestershire and we experience the river Severn flooding annually, it always has this time of year. The EA has spend a lot of money on flood defences in the area and they have been extremely effective in areas like Bewdley, Worcester and Upton upon Severn. There are not funds available to set up defences in areas that do not flood like these on a regular basis. We have experienced unprecedented rain recently, it is not proven that this is a climate change or global warming issue, the Jet Stream seems to be an influencing factor and the experts don't understand why it has moved the way it has this year.

In my opinion its wrong to blame Cameron personally for the floods, Nature is too powerful for us to control, there have always been unpredictable natural disasters beyond our control and there always will be.

View attachment 9103

So do I

Me three but don't stop that getting in the way of an excuse to bash a politician for something he/they do not deserve to be blamed for.

http://www.parliament.uk/business/p...-parliament/green-growth/reducing-flood-risk/

The Government accepted all 92 recommendations, but what has the Government actually done to get matters sorted? Is there more or less building on flood plains? Has the routine maintenance of the drainage systems been done or has it been ignored. If all the work has been done & still we flooded, fair enough, one up to Mother Nature. When the Government accepts recommendations but does little or nothing about them then it's down to Government. And who is in charge of that Government?

We'll agree to differ then.

 

[Foxholer]

Lord Smith! Now you are getting closer. IMO he is a lefty EU sycophant who with his Quango has been committed to their policy of protecting Water Voles and Wading Birds at the expense of peoples homes and businesses by returning moorland and low lying coastal areas to wetlands. The Environment Agency is full of Green Yoghurt Knitting Dreamers like him. And as I mentioned in another thread, his budget was increased for 2014 not cut.

I guess you are not a fan of his then!

Would you rather the 'moorlands and low lying coastal areas' were used for homes and businesses? Seems like a recipe for more flooding to me!

 

[Tashyboy]

This is one of those topics where as far as I am concerned your political preference largely influences your view. The bottom line for me is that the response to this crisis is far to late. When one person says it does not matter if rivers have been dredged and then call me David says we will dredge the rivers, tells me that the left hand don't know what the right is doing. Where actually does the buck stop.

further more, and if I get slated for saying this, so be it. why is it more of a crisis if someone gets flooded in London than say Somerset or the Devon and Cornwall Coast. It's not and some people have been in this flooded situation for weeks and will be in this flooded situation for weeks and months.

what has happened has happened, I just hope that when the dust sorry water has settled or gone. The powers that be sit down and do everything in there powers to make sure that these biblical disasters never happen again. however I have a feeling that Mother Nature may have something to say about that

 

[SocketRocket]

I guess you are not a fan of his then!

Would you rather the 'moorlands and low lying coastal areas' were used for homes and businesses? Seems like a recipe for more flooding to me!

Did I suggest that? No! quite the opposite. I suggest these areas continue to be drained so that farmers and villages can continue to live the way they have for hundreds of years.

 

[MegaSteve]

And as I mentioned in another thread, his budget was increased for 2014 not cut.

Still down on 2010 levels of agency funding though...

But that's neither here nor there though... 'Traditional' ways of land 'maintenance' [such as simple things like ditch clearance] were abandoned decades ago...

 

[Foxholer]

further more, and if I get slated for saying this, so be it. why is it more of a crisis if someone gets flooded in London than say Somerset or the Devon and Cornwall Coast. It's not and some people have been in this flooded situation for weeks and will be in this flooded situation for weeks and months.

An entirely reasonable question imo.

There's no difference if someone in either area gets flooded, but if 500 acres of London gets flooded it's a larger 'cost' than if 500 acres of a village does, which is in turn more of a cost than if 500 acres of farmland does. Just the method to measure/allocate the cost/expenditure - along with a few other considerations.

 

[SocketRocket]

Still down on 2010 levels of agency funding though...

But that's neither here nor there though... 'Traditional' ways of land 'maintenance' [such as simple things like ditch clearance] were abandoned decades ago...

Not in Somerset. There is an agency that is part funded by local rates and part by EA grant that deal with these matters. I think you will find that it is pressure from the EU that encourages them to return the levels to flood plane.