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| Johnson’s slow response to flooding here in Yorkshire could cost him the election | Johnson’s slow response to flooding here in Yorkshire could cost him the election |
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| The prime minister seems unable to demonstrate empathy for flood victims in a region full of marginal seats, says the Leeds-based editor Robyn Vinter | The prime minister seems unable to demonstrate empathy for flood victims in a region full of marginal seats, says the Leeds-based editor Robyn Vinter |
| The people of Doncaster don’t really like politicians. They’ve learned that promises take a long time to be fulfilled, if they’re fulfilled at all; and ultimately, if something needs doing, the only way to get it done for certain is to pitch in and help. | |
| That’s perhaps why the town is well known locally for having a wealth of charitable and voluntary organisations, which have proved vital in filling the gaps left by drastically shrinking local services. Doncaster council has suffered some of the biggest cuts in the country: by next year, over a third will have been slashed from its budget since 2010. There’s a feeling that the town, as well as many other places in the north, never actually recovered from the recession. | |
| But in the past week the problems in Doncaster and other areas of South Yorkshire have gone beyond hungry families, lonely elderly people and children not having enough access to books. More than 400 homes have been flooded in the north over the past week, with 2,000 people evacuated and at least one person known to have died, and prime minister Boris Johnson’s reaction has been agonisingly slow. | But in the past week the problems in Doncaster and other areas of South Yorkshire have gone beyond hungry families, lonely elderly people and children not having enough access to books. More than 400 homes have been flooded in the north over the past week, with 2,000 people evacuated and at least one person known to have died, and prime minister Boris Johnson’s reaction has been agonisingly slow. |
| Preferring to stick to his line “the locals have it covered”, he absolutely failed to provide national support until the point where it could no longer be ignored. | Preferring to stick to his line “the locals have it covered”, he absolutely failed to provide national support until the point where it could no longer be ignored. |
| It’s a stark contrast to the government’s response when 165 homes and thousands of acres of farmland were flooded on the Somerset Levels in 2013-14. The then prime minister, David Cameron, said money was “no object” in tackling the disaster and cancelled a planned trip to the Middle East. | It’s a stark contrast to the government’s response when 165 homes and thousands of acres of farmland were flooded on the Somerset Levels in 2013-14. The then prime minister, David Cameron, said money was “no object” in tackling the disaster and cancelled a planned trip to the Middle East. |
| It’s even more frustrating when taking into consideration that this is the flood that should never have happened. The Don Valley has already had a “once in a generation” flood, in 2007. | It’s even more frustrating when taking into consideration that this is the flood that should never have happened. The Don Valley has already had a “once in a generation” flood, in 2007. |
| And it isn’t the first time the north has experienced a lethargic reaction to flooding. Over the border in West Yorkshire, Leeds is still waiting for a portion of the flood alleviation money the city was promised after the 2015 Boxing Day floods. Four years after parts of the city were in waist-deep water, the majority of the funding has now been confirmed, though we’re still £25.1m short and there’s no guarantee from the government as to whether it will arrive at all, let alone when. | And it isn’t the first time the north has experienced a lethargic reaction to flooding. Over the border in West Yorkshire, Leeds is still waiting for a portion of the flood alleviation money the city was promised after the 2015 Boxing Day floods. Four years after parts of the city were in waist-deep water, the majority of the funding has now been confirmed, though we’re still £25.1m short and there’s no guarantee from the government as to whether it will arrive at all, let alone when. |
| It feels like very much a case of “out of sight, out of mind” for Johnson – when it’s on our doorsteps, not his, it’s much easier for him to ignore. And if it was uncomfortable to watch him use a mop for what looked like the first time in his life in a Specsavers in Derbyshire last week, that was nothing compared with his interactions with flood-hit residents over the past couple of days. | It feels like very much a case of “out of sight, out of mind” for Johnson – when it’s on our doorsteps, not his, it’s much easier for him to ignore. And if it was uncomfortable to watch him use a mop for what looked like the first time in his life in a Specsavers in Derbyshire last week, that was nothing compared with his interactions with flood-hit residents over the past couple of days. |
| It’s not that he can’t sense the mood when he enters a room, it seems he just doesn’t possess the skills necessary to have a conversation with someone from a different background, especially in crisis situations. When he speaks to people from the north, he resembles a schoolboy on a foreign exchange programme having a go at interacting with the locals. If Johnson feels genuine empathy for people who have lost their homes to flooding, he’s entirely unable to articulate it. | It’s not that he can’t sense the mood when he enters a room, it seems he just doesn’t possess the skills necessary to have a conversation with someone from a different background, especially in crisis situations. When he speaks to people from the north, he resembles a schoolboy on a foreign exchange programme having a go at interacting with the locals. If Johnson feels genuine empathy for people who have lost their homes to flooding, he’s entirely unable to articulate it. |
| And that’s where he needs to be careful. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has also been in Yorkshire, presenting a united front with his predecessor, Ed Miliband, the MP for Doncaster North. Pictures and videos show him stoically listening to flood victims and even hugging one distraught woman. Worse than that for the prime minister, though, Johnson’s inaction gave Corbyn the chance to utter the magic words: “Just imagine if this had happened in Surrey instead of Yorkshire. I think there would have been a very, very different response.” | And that’s where he needs to be careful. The Labour leader, Jeremy Corbyn, has also been in Yorkshire, presenting a united front with his predecessor, Ed Miliband, the MP for Doncaster North. Pictures and videos show him stoically listening to flood victims and even hugging one distraught woman. Worse than that for the prime minister, though, Johnson’s inaction gave Corbyn the chance to utter the magic words: “Just imagine if this had happened in Surrey instead of Yorkshire. I think there would have been a very, very different response.” |
| Yorkshire, perhaps more than any other English region, is a feast of marginal seats. The Don Valley constituency, where much of the flooding has been, was won narrowly by Labour, but the Tories increased their share of the vote by a very significant 16% in 2017. In some constituencies, there were only a couple of hundred votes in it. | Yorkshire, perhaps more than any other English region, is a feast of marginal seats. The Don Valley constituency, where much of the flooding has been, was won narrowly by Labour, but the Tories increased their share of the vote by a very significant 16% in 2017. In some constituencies, there were only a couple of hundred votes in it. |
| And let’s not forget, Yorkshire is a big place – it has a population the same size as Scotland’s and two-thirds the size of London’s. It really could be where the election is won or lost – and the amount of time both leaders have spent here in the past few months suggests they know that too. It’s certainly not inconceivable that Johnson’s complacency in the region could help to cost him the election. | And let’s not forget, Yorkshire is a big place – it has a population the same size as Scotland’s and two-thirds the size of London’s. It really could be where the election is won or lost – and the amount of time both leaders have spent here in the past few months suggests they know that too. It’s certainly not inconceivable that Johnson’s complacency in the region could help to cost him the election. |
| • Robyn Vinter is a freelance journalist and editor based in Leeds | • Robyn Vinter is a freelance journalist and editor based in Leeds |