LONDON: Opposition leaders have branded the government’s response to the severe flooding hitting parts of the country as “woeful” and accused it of not taking it seriously enough.Severe flooding hit several areas in Yorkshire and the East Midlands last week, with parts around the River Don near Doncaster worst affected after the river burst its banks. Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn branded the government’s response as “woeful” while Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson said it was not taking it as seriously enough.Corbyn said if the flooding had happened in Surrey in the South East, it “would have been a very different story”. He said Johnson had only called a Cobra meeting on Tuesday after he had written to the Prime Minister demanding one.Speaking at a rally in Blackpool, Corbyn added: “More than a thousand homes have been evacuated and one woman, Annie Hall, has lost her life. Our hearts go out to her family and friends. The Conservative government’s response to the floods has been woeful.”Corbyn returned to south Yorkshire to meet families and volunteers on Tuesday where he was expected to announce plans for a new £5.6 billion fund to level up flood defences over 10 years. Labour said this will be funded through its £250 billion Green Transformation Fund and prioritise “areas of need” such as the North West, Yorkshire and the East Midlands. Visiting Fishlake on Tuesday, Lib Dem leader Jo Swinson accused the government of not taking it as seriously as it should. She added: “It should be declaring a national emergency so they can open up the ability to apply to the EU for the emergency funds that are available at times of extreme floods. They are not yet doing that and they should be doing that.” She said the party’s policy of spending £5 billion on flood defences was necessary, particularly as the climate emergency would make such events more common. Five severe flood warnings from the Environment Agency remain in place around Doncaster, warning of a danger to life in the areas around the River Don at Bentley, Fishlake, Kirk Bramwith, South Bramwith and Willow Bridge Caravan Site.Twenty-nine flood warnings are in place across the country, with 12 around the River Don.The Met Office has issued yellow weather warnings for rain in south Wales and parts of the south west on Wednesday and the Midlands, parts of Wales and the south east on Thursday.
11-13-2019, 09:52 AM
Govt response to flooding woeful: Labour, Lib Dems
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