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You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/environment/live/2015/dec/28/uk-floods-thousands-evacuated-after-unprecedented-crisis
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| Cameron defends flood defence spending amid calls for 'complete rethink' - as it happened | Cameron defends flood defence spending amid calls for 'complete rethink' - as it happened |
| (30 days later) | |
| 6.01pm GMT | 6.01pm GMT |
| 18:01 | 18:01 |
| Closing summary | Closing summary |
| 5.51pm GMT | 5.51pm GMT |
| 17:51 | 17:51 |
| Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, has laid into the government’s treatment of fire and rescue services, whose members have paid a key role in the response to the flooding over the past few days. | Matt Wrack, the general secretary of the Fire Brigades Union, has laid into the government’s treatment of fire and rescue services, whose members have paid a key role in the response to the flooding over the past few days. |
| In comments carried by PA, Wrack complained that the PM seemed “almost unable to mention the term ‘firefighters’ in his response to this,” despite their significant role. | In comments carried by PA, Wrack complained that the PM seemed “almost unable to mention the term ‘firefighters’ in his response to this,” despite their significant role. |
| The closure of fire stations was having a “big impact” on the safety of residents in emergency situations such as major floods, he said. | The closure of fire stations was having a “big impact” on the safety of residents in emergency situations such as major floods, he said. |
| The FBU is calling for fire and rescue services to be centrally coordinated and for better investment in flood response resources, which have been stretched to the limit by the inundations across the north of England and Wales since Boxing Day. In a statement, Wrack said: | The FBU is calling for fire and rescue services to be centrally coordinated and for better investment in flood response resources, which have been stretched to the limit by the inundations across the north of England and Wales since Boxing Day. In a statement, Wrack said: |
| Firefighters and other public servants have been performing magnificently against these horrendous floods. A key part of this has been rescue and evacuation work and other assistance to communities directly hit. | Firefighters and other public servants have been performing magnificently against these horrendous floods. A key part of this has been rescue and evacuation work and other assistance to communities directly hit. |
| Rescue from floods requires specialist training, resources and coordination. This is what has been provided from across the country of the past few days. The firefighters involved deserve the thanks of all our communities. | Rescue from floods requires specialist training, resources and coordination. This is what has been provided from across the country of the past few days. The firefighters involved deserve the thanks of all our communities. |
| Wrack called for debate about future coordination for flood response, adding: | Wrack called for debate about future coordination for flood response, adding: |
| Firefighters have been raising concerns about major flooding for almost a decade. The fire and rescue service is generally a local authority service and the government endlessly tells us that any decisions need to be taken locally. But floods on this scale are clearly not a local matter. | Firefighters have been raising concerns about major flooding for almost a decade. The fire and rescue service is generally a local authority service and the government endlessly tells us that any decisions need to be taken locally. But floods on this scale are clearly not a local matter. |
| It’s all very well David Cameron calling Cobra meetings, but all too often these matters seem to be forgotten as soon as the flood waters subside. That’s simply not good enough, either for the communities affected or for those who are asked to deal with the fall-out. | It’s all very well David Cameron calling Cobra meetings, but all too often these matters seem to be forgotten as soon as the flood waters subside. That’s simply not good enough, either for the communities affected or for those who are asked to deal with the fall-out. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 5.52pm GMT | at 5.52pm GMT |
| 5.20pm GMT | 5.20pm GMT |
| 17:20 | 17:20 |
| The Environment Agency is warning that the village of Croston could face further flooding after a river south of the village “overwhelmed” defences, causing a “gap”, the BBC reports. | The Environment Agency is warning that the village of Croston could face further flooding after a river south of the village “overwhelmed” defences, causing a “gap”, the BBC reports. |
| Flood risk manager Andy Brown told the Broadcaster they would be “coming up rapidly with an emergency plan” to carry out repairs. | Flood risk manager Andy Brown told the Broadcaster they would be “coming up rapidly with an emergency plan” to carry out repairs. |
| 5.10pm GMT | 5.10pm GMT |
| 17:10 | 17:10 |
| The latest from the Environment Agency’s live flood warnings service has nine severe flood warnings in place, 52 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, and 69 flood alerts. | The latest from the Environment Agency’s live flood warnings service has nine severe flood warnings in place, 52 flood warnings, meaning flooding is expected, and 69 flood alerts. |
| Separately, the agency’s flood warnings summary page has an interactive map showing that there is not one region in the whole of England and Wales that is not affected by at least a flood warning - although the Aglian and South East regions have just one apiece. | Separately, the agency’s flood warnings summary page has an interactive map showing that there is not one region in the whole of England and Wales that is not affected by at least a flood warning - although the Aglian and South East regions have just one apiece. |
| The good news is that 123 flood warnings are no longer in force, although with more wet weather expected on Tuesday and Wednesday, these could be transient reversals. | The good news is that 123 flood warnings are no longer in force, although with more wet weather expected on Tuesday and Wednesday, these could be transient reversals. |
| 4.36pm GMT | 4.36pm GMT |
| 16:36 | 16:36 |
| Leo Hickman, the former Guardian journalist turned climate science analyst, has drawn Twitter’s attention to this wry comment by John Sentamu, archbishop of York: | Leo Hickman, the former Guardian journalist turned climate science analyst, has drawn Twitter’s attention to this wry comment by John Sentamu, archbishop of York: |
| Archbishop of York having a dig at UK's current flood policies by pointing out we did things better in 13thC... pic.twitter.com/K6tu8JE2Pz | Archbishop of York having a dig at UK's current flood policies by pointing out we did things better in 13thC... pic.twitter.com/K6tu8JE2Pz |
| 4.24pm GMT | 4.24pm GMT |
| 16:24 | 16:24 |
| Lancashire fire and rescue are sending fire engines and pumps to deal with new river breaches in Croston. | Lancashire fire and rescue are sending fire engines and pumps to deal with new river breaches in Croston. |
| As three severe flood warnings remain for Croston, @LancashireFRS say they're sending fire engines and pumps to deal with new river breaches | As three severe flood warnings remain for Croston, @LancashireFRS say they're sending fire engines and pumps to deal with new river breaches |
| A statement published earlier on the service’s website says: | A statement published earlier on the service’s website says: |
| There have been two breaches in Croston; one on the River Douglas and one on Eller Brook. With the high tides and more significant rainfall expected over the next few days, we are working with the EA to pump water away from the Croston Moss, the flood plain. | There have been two breaches in Croston; one on the River Douglas and one on Eller Brook. With the high tides and more significant rainfall expected over the next few days, we are working with the EA to pump water away from the Croston Moss, the flood plain. |
| We have two fire engines, one command unit at the scene and at 13:00 we sent our High Volume Pump from Burnley to the scene and asked the National Coordination Centre for another four high volume pumps from across the country. | We have two fire engines, one command unit at the scene and at 13:00 we sent our High Volume Pump from Burnley to the scene and asked the National Coordination Centre for another four high volume pumps from across the country. |
| 4.06pm GMT | 4.06pm GMT |
| 16:06 | 16:06 |
| Nigel Bunyan has sent this story about the “forgotten” village of Billington, which was overwhelmed by the Boxing Day floods. It is still a scene of devastation, he writes. | Nigel Bunyan has sent this story about the “forgotten” village of Billington, which was overwhelmed by the Boxing Day floods. It is still a scene of devastation, he writes. |
| A giant skip has been placed strategically in the middle of Longworth Road so that villagers could dump their waterlogged, ruined possessions. There were lounge suites, sideboards, washing machines, driers, fridges and fridge freezers, as well as carpets, once-cherished pictures and somewhere at the bottom of the heap was the chair that had once belonged to Barbara Templeman’s father, Kenneth. | A giant skip has been placed strategically in the middle of Longworth Road so that villagers could dump their waterlogged, ruined possessions. There were lounge suites, sideboards, washing machines, driers, fridges and fridge freezers, as well as carpets, once-cherished pictures and somewhere at the bottom of the heap was the chair that had once belonged to Barbara Templeman’s father, Kenneth. |
| For 16 years Templeman, 63, had given it pride of place in the lounge of the two-bedroom terrace she shares with her husband, David, 69. But on Boxing Day, as the River Calder burst its banks and diverted through the street that has been her home since childhood, she had neither the strength nor the time to move it. By the time she returned the next morning it was ruined beyond repair. | For 16 years Templeman, 63, had given it pride of place in the lounge of the two-bedroom terrace she shares with her husband, David, 69. But on Boxing Day, as the River Calder burst its banks and diverted through the street that has been her home since childhood, she had neither the strength nor the time to move it. By the time she returned the next morning it was ruined beyond repair. |
| “I wouldn’t let them take it away at first,” she said tearfully. “I just thought that somehow it might have been possible to restore it. But really, it was too badly damaged. Once this is over I’ll try to buy a new chair in dad’s memory. Until then I’ll try to shut it out of my mind.” | “I wouldn’t let them take it away at first,” she said tearfully. “I just thought that somehow it might have been possible to restore it. But really, it was too badly damaged. Once this is over I’ll try to buy a new chair in dad’s memory. Until then I’ll try to shut it out of my mind.” |
| Like her neighbours, she has enough to think about. Around 70 of them, all from the same street beneath the Whalley Arches, near Clitheroe, Lancs, are without gas and proper sanitation. Insurance assessors have promised to make appearances on Tuesday, but until then many have no idea what to expect. Some have realised too late that they are uninsured for flood damage. | Like her neighbours, she has enough to think about. Around 70 of them, all from the same street beneath the Whalley Arches, near Clitheroe, Lancs, are without gas and proper sanitation. Insurance assessors have promised to make appearances on Tuesday, but until then many have no idea what to expect. Some have realised too late that they are uninsured for flood damage. |
| Further down the street from the Templemans, Mark Taylor, 33, an engineer, and his partner, Lisa Holdsworth, 28, a nursery nurse, thought they had sold their own £105,000 home. The contracts were signed a fortnight ago, and they and their daughters, Ellie-Mae, 10, and Caitlin, nine, were looking forward to moving to a new home in Clitheroe early in the New Year. | Further down the street from the Templemans, Mark Taylor, 33, an engineer, and his partner, Lisa Holdsworth, 28, a nursery nurse, thought they had sold their own £105,000 home. The contracts were signed a fortnight ago, and they and their daughters, Ellie-Mae, 10, and Caitlin, nine, were looking forward to moving to a new home in Clitheroe early in the New Year. |
| “We’ll never sell it now,” said Lisa, wiping tears from her eyes. “The kids had been so excited, we all had. We’ve lost everything we’ve been working for and towards for all these years.” | “We’ll never sell it now,” said Lisa, wiping tears from her eyes. “The kids had been so excited, we all had. We’ve lost everything we’ve been working for and towards for all these years.” |
| 3.36pm GMT | 3.36pm GMT |
| 15:36 | 15:36 |
| The Archbishop of York has praised the “tremendous spirit” of everyone who has responded to the floods across northern England as the undercroft in his own palace was being pumped out. From PA. | The Archbishop of York has praised the “tremendous spirit” of everyone who has responded to the floods across northern England as the undercroft in his own palace was being pumped out. From PA. |
| In a statement, he said: “As expected, the undercroft in my home here at Bishopthorpe Palace is flooded again. We are fortunate however that back in the 13th century they built with flooding in mind, such that when the water subsides it soon washes through the original flood drains made for the purpose. I am thankful for the foresight that went into planning all those years ago. | In a statement, he said: “As expected, the undercroft in my home here at Bishopthorpe Palace is flooded again. We are fortunate however that back in the 13th century they built with flooding in mind, such that when the water subsides it soon washes through the original flood drains made for the purpose. I am thankful for the foresight that went into planning all those years ago. |
| Besides the shock and danger of the floods themselves, for those flooded out, the drying time and clean-up period will be long, tedious, costly, and sheer hard work. It is no surprise, however, to see the people of York responding with tremendous spirit, resolve, and generosity, to the plight of their flooded neighbours at this time. | Besides the shock and danger of the floods themselves, for those flooded out, the drying time and clean-up period will be long, tedious, costly, and sheer hard work. It is no surprise, however, to see the people of York responding with tremendous spirit, resolve, and generosity, to the plight of their flooded neighbours at this time. |
| I know that a lot of work has gone into making more robust the flood defences in the City of York over recent years. It will be all the more disappointing to those who have laboured to achieve this that we have not been able to prevent another serious flood in our beloved city.” | I know that a lot of work has gone into making more robust the flood defences in the City of York over recent years. It will be all the more disappointing to those who have laboured to achieve this that we have not been able to prevent another serious flood in our beloved city.” |
| 3.26pm GMT | 3.26pm GMT |
| 15:26 | 15:26 |
| David Cameron defends government record on flood defence as he tours York. | David Cameron defends government record on flood defence as he tours York. |
| 3.24pm GMT | 3.24pm GMT |
| 15:24 | 15:24 |
| Caroline Davies | Caroline Davies |
| Caroline Davies has more on Storm Frank, which is expected batter the north and west on Wednesday with heavy rain and gale-force winds, including parts of northern England already hit by the Boxing Day floods. | Caroline Davies has more on Storm Frank, which is expected batter the north and west on Wednesday with heavy rain and gale-force winds, including parts of northern England already hit by the Boxing Day floods. |
| The storm is the sixth to be named since the system of labelling storms expected to have significant impact was introduced in September. | The storm is the sixth to be named since the system of labelling storms expected to have significant impact was introduced in September. |
| Up to 80mm of rain is predicted to fall on high ground, and potentially in excess of 120mm in exposed areas, with large swaths of the UK seeing up to 40mm. | Up to 80mm of rain is predicted to fall on high ground, and potentially in excess of 120mm in exposed areas, with large swaths of the UK seeing up to 40mm. |
| The Met Office issued yellow warnings for rain on Wednesday for north-west England, north-east England, Yorkshire and Humber, Wales and Northern Ireland. Amber warnings are in place for parts of central and southern Scotland. Another amber rain warning has been issued for parts of Cumbria, which experienced severe flooding in early December. | The Met Office issued yellow warnings for rain on Wednesday for north-west England, north-east England, Yorkshire and Humber, Wales and Northern Ireland. Amber warnings are in place for parts of central and southern Scotland. Another amber rain warning has been issued for parts of Cumbria, which experienced severe flooding in early December. |
| 3.17pm GMT | 3.17pm GMT |
| 15:17 | 15:17 |
| In Ireland, ahead of Storm Frank, residents are being warned of a significant risk of localised flooding in all parts of County Clare as a result of a combination of strong gale to storm force southerly winds, heavy rainfall, high tides and already saturated ground. | In Ireland, ahead of Storm Frank, residents are being warned of a significant risk of localised flooding in all parts of County Clare as a result of a combination of strong gale to storm force southerly winds, heavy rainfall, high tides and already saturated ground. |
| More flooding in Shannon expected as storm warning issued https://t.co/FJ3VQgC3Vc | More flooding in Shannon expected as storm warning issued https://t.co/FJ3VQgC3Vc |
| 3.13pm GMT | 3.13pm GMT |
| 15:13 | 15:13 |
| Mary Dejevsky | Mary Dejevsky |
| The Guardian’s Mary Dejevsky rejects the argument that the foreign aid budget should be raided for flood defences at home. The proportion of GDP the UK has earmarked for foreign aid spending may be higher than that allocated by many other countries, she notes, but it is still tiny in real terms. Much better to take money from the defence budget, she argues. | The Guardian’s Mary Dejevsky rejects the argument that the foreign aid budget should be raided for flood defences at home. The proportion of GDP the UK has earmarked for foreign aid spending may be higher than that allocated by many other countries, she notes, but it is still tiny in real terms. Much better to take money from the defence budget, she argues. |
| The army’s contribution this Christmas also raises another question: might the UK today benefit from a highly trained civilian Home Guard, part-professional, part-volunteer? Defence chiefs will no doubt say that the military is overstretched as it is. But the answer here should be obvious: less Syria; more Kendal and Hebden Bridge. | The army’s contribution this Christmas also raises another question: might the UK today benefit from a highly trained civilian Home Guard, part-professional, part-volunteer? Defence chiefs will no doubt say that the military is overstretched as it is. But the answer here should be obvious: less Syria; more Kendal and Hebden Bridge. |
| 3.01pm GMT | 3.01pm GMT |
| 15:01 | 15:01 |
| The Labour MP for Bolton South-East welcomes government support for damaged homes. | The Labour MP for Bolton South-East welcomes government support for damaged homes. |
| Pleased the government is giving homes damaged by flooding access to same package of support as those affected by Storm Desmond #Prestolee | Pleased the government is giving homes damaged by flooding access to same package of support as those affected by Storm Desmond #Prestolee |
| 2.55pm GMT | 2.55pm GMT |
| 14:55 | 14:55 |
| Sophie Heawood | Sophie Heawood |
| Sophie Heawood ventured into York to buy a laptop charger, but had trouble getting home. | Sophie Heawood ventured into York to buy a laptop charger, but had trouble getting home. |
| Our house was still fine, being a good five roads beyond any burst riverbank (and York is built at the confluence of two rivers, so there is a lot of riverbank to go round), but I couldn’t get to it. The army had been evacuating families from the streets in between. People were starting to use words like levees, that I only knew from New Orleans. Then, like magic, a taxi appeared. The driver disregarded the police advice and took me a complicated different route in the opposite direction. | Our house was still fine, being a good five roads beyond any burst riverbank (and York is built at the confluence of two rivers, so there is a lot of riverbank to go round), but I couldn’t get to it. The army had been evacuating families from the streets in between. People were starting to use words like levees, that I only knew from New Orleans. Then, like magic, a taxi appeared. The driver disregarded the police advice and took me a complicated different route in the opposite direction. |
| People were still queuing up to buy navy polo necks in the sales, as we made our getaway. Driving across a roundabout that was half flooded, with a TV crew set up filming. You could still drive over the other side of it – just. We drove past lakes that used to be playing fields, with people standing all around them, in the dark, back to a house where my mother had been baking loaves of bread for the first time in years, in case the food shops all closed. It felt like the quiet, unexpected beginnings of an apocalypse. | People were still queuing up to buy navy polo necks in the sales, as we made our getaway. Driving across a roundabout that was half flooded, with a TV crew set up filming. You could still drive over the other side of it – just. We drove past lakes that used to be playing fields, with people standing all around them, in the dark, back to a house where my mother had been baking loaves of bread for the first time in years, in case the food shops all closed. It felt like the quiet, unexpected beginnings of an apocalypse. |
| 2.48pm GMT | 2.48pm GMT |
| 14:48 | 14:48 |
| The Green party leader, Natalie Bennett, has laid into the prime minister for a “wholly inadequate response”. | The Green party leader, Natalie Bennett, has laid into the prime minister for a “wholly inadequate response”. |
| David Cameron has today said on flood defences ‘Let’s have a look and see whether more needs to be done’. That is a wholly inadequate response to the massive disruption to communities, lives and economies, and a demonstration of the way this government has failed to respond to the reality and threats of a world now already living with one degree of warming above pre-industrial levels. | David Cameron has today said on flood defences ‘Let’s have a look and see whether more needs to be done’. That is a wholly inadequate response to the massive disruption to communities, lives and economies, and a demonstration of the way this government has failed to respond to the reality and threats of a world now already living with one degree of warming above pre-industrial levels. |
| It has been clear since its election that this government hasn’t grasped the reality of the climate change we’re already experiencing – which the experts tell us will result in more extreme weather, and extremes happening more often. | It has been clear since its election that this government hasn’t grasped the reality of the climate change we’re already experiencing – which the experts tell us will result in more extreme weather, and extremes happening more often. |
| We urgently need to not just consider flood defences, but land use across catchments, plus the protection of urban areas through sustainable drainage and similar management schemes, while ending the construction of new housing estates in vulnerable areas. | We urgently need to not just consider flood defences, but land use across catchments, plus the protection of urban areas through sustainable drainage and similar management schemes, while ending the construction of new housing estates in vulnerable areas. |
| And we urgently need the government to adopt the policies that will ensure we play our part in restricting climate change to a total of 1.5 degrees warming. | And we urgently need the government to adopt the policies that will ensure we play our part in restricting climate change to a total of 1.5 degrees warming. |
| Many of the areas affected by these floods are also facing the threat of fracking – as the government ploughs ahead with its hugely unpopular plans for allowing companies to seek more fossil fuels underneath our feet, while we know that we have to leave at least two thirds of our known fossil fuel reserves in the ground to avoid catastrophic climate change. | Many of the areas affected by these floods are also facing the threat of fracking – as the government ploughs ahead with its hugely unpopular plans for allowing companies to seek more fossil fuels underneath our feet, while we know that we have to leave at least two thirds of our known fossil fuel reserves in the ground to avoid catastrophic climate change. |
| Updated | Updated |
| at 3.04pm GMT | at 3.04pm GMT |
| 2.43pm GMT | 2.43pm GMT |
| 14:43 | 14:43 |
| Damian Carrington | Damian Carrington |
| My colleague has been looking at the government’s record on flood defence spending. He finds it wanting, despite David Cameron’s protestations today. | My colleague has been looking at the government’s record on flood defence spending. He finds it wanting, despite David Cameron’s protestations today. |
| Cameron cannot say he was not warned: he has ignored red flag after red flag, right from the start of his premiership. In the first year of the coalition, he cut capital spending on flood defences by 27% year-on-year. That was despite the 2008 Pitt Review – a systematic analysis of major floods in 2007 – concluding that much more funding was needed. Funding had risen quickly under the Labour government, only to be slashed by Cameron. | Cameron cannot say he was not warned: he has ignored red flag after red flag, right from the start of his premiership. In the first year of the coalition, he cut capital spending on flood defences by 27% year-on-year. That was despite the 2008 Pitt Review – a systematic analysis of major floods in 2007 – concluding that much more funding was needed. Funding had risen quickly under the Labour government, only to be slashed by Cameron. |
| The prime minister himself had expressed the risks. “Most people accept that, with climate change, [floods] are likely to be more frequent,” he told parliament in May 2008, following flooding in his Oxfordshire constituency. | The prime minister himself had expressed the risks. “Most people accept that, with climate change, [floods] are likely to be more frequent,” he told parliament in May 2008, following flooding in his Oxfordshire constituency. |
| Flood defence spending never recovered to the level inherited from Labour during the whole coalition parliament, if you exclude – as the National Audit Office deems appropriate – the emergency funding delivered after flooding 2013-14. | Flood defence spending never recovered to the level inherited from Labour during the whole coalition parliament, if you exclude – as the National Audit Office deems appropriate – the emergency funding delivered after flooding 2013-14. |
| 2.24pm GMT | 2.24pm GMT |
| 14:24 | 14:24 |
| The Yorkshire Evening Post fulminates against the government, arguing that it would never have allowed London or the south-east to be devastated by floods. It said in an editorial: | The Yorkshire Evening Post fulminates against the government, arguing that it would never have allowed London or the south-east to be devastated by floods. It said in an editorial: |
| It remains the case that such events, like those witnessed in this city, are unthinkable in London and much of the South East, where state-of-the-art flood defences have long been in place. | It remains the case that such events, like those witnessed in this city, are unthinkable in London and much of the South East, where state-of-the-art flood defences have long been in place. |
| The Yorkshire Post also brought up the north-south divide theme, when it accused the government of mouthing platitudes. | The Yorkshire Post also brought up the north-south divide theme, when it accused the government of mouthing platitudes. |
| The prime minister repeatedly used the word ‘unprecedented’ to describe this winter’s storms. Yet every fortnight brings ‘unprecedented’ levels of new flooding and the same pious platitudes from politicians, like environment secretary Liz Truss, whose rhetoric is increasingly economical with the truth. | The prime minister repeatedly used the word ‘unprecedented’ to describe this winter’s storms. Yet every fortnight brings ‘unprecedented’ levels of new flooding and the same pious platitudes from politicians, like environment secretary Liz Truss, whose rhetoric is increasingly economical with the truth. |
| The north-south divide was also picked up by Judith Blake, the council leader in Leeds, who said: | The north-south divide was also picked up by Judith Blake, the council leader in Leeds, who said: |
| I think we’re beginning to feel that very strongly. At that time there were other flooding events in the north that didn’t get anywhere near the support that we saw going into Somerset. | I think we’re beginning to feel that very strongly. At that time there were other flooding events in the north that didn’t get anywhere near the support that we saw going into Somerset. |
| David Cameron sought to deflect such criticisms when he visited York. The prime minister insisted that £100m had been spent in Yorkshire on flood defences since 2010 with plans to invest another £280m. He rejected allegations of a north-south divide in funding for flood defences. | David Cameron sought to deflect such criticisms when he visited York. The prime minister insisted that £100m had been spent in Yorkshire on flood defences since 2010 with plans to invest another £280m. He rejected allegations of a north-south divide in funding for flood defences. |
| That’s not the case. We spend more per head on flood defences in the north of England than we do in the south of England, and here in Yorkshire we are almost trebling the amount we will be spending in the current parliament. What matters is that we spend the right amount in the right places, and that’s what our review will make sure is happening.” | That’s not the case. We spend more per head on flood defences in the north of England than we do in the south of England, and here in Yorkshire we are almost trebling the amount we will be spending in the current parliament. What matters is that we spend the right amount in the right places, and that’s what our review will make sure is happening.” |
| @BBCLookNorth @suttonnick @Johnston_Press pic.twitter.com/lFlNYCck7r | @BBCLookNorth @suttonnick @Johnston_Press pic.twitter.com/lFlNYCck7r |