Independent review of government handling of floods needed

The Labour Party is calling for an independent review into the recent floods in the UK, as well as the government’s response to them.

Arguing that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has been missing in action, the move means that MPs from across all political parties will be asked to support the call as they debate the floods’ impact on communities and businesses as part of Labour’s opposition day.

Johnson’s reaction to the floods have been much discussed by Labour, with the party also stressing that the devastation across the country follows years of Conservative cuts to flood defence spending, the Environment Agency, emergency services and local councils.

Luke Pollard, Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, also claims that the current government is failing to adequately respond to the climate emergency and the dangers it represents to our towns and cities, especially in coastal areas.

He said: “Boris Johnson has proved himself to be a part-time Prime Minister who is unwilling to help communities and businesses that have suffered terribly because of the floods. There needs to be an independent review into the government’s woefully slow response to help flood-hit communities. We need to know how many homes and businesses have been affected, and what additional funding will be made available to local authorities and emergency services. Labour will continue to support communities devastated by the floods and hold the government to account for its inaction.”

In response to Storm Ciara, the Environment Agency issued 186 flood alerts, 251 flood warnings and one severe flood warning in England. Storm Dennis is believed to have caused the worst winter floods in recent times, in part because the rain was so widespread but also because it has fallen on ground already saturated from Storm Ciara the previous week.