Intransigence is no defence

HAROLD Wilson's maxim that "a week is a long time in politics" is still used today. Yet, given this, imagine what the past three years have felt like to all those whose homes and businesses were wrecked by the floods of 2007 that submerged large parts of Yorkshire? An eternity is probably the only answer that suffices.

Though many victims were initially comforted by the political response led by Gordon Brown, who was being tested by a series of crises at his premiership's outset, his Government was, inevitably, diverted to other issues as families slowly returned to their homes after months of living in temporary accommodation.

Yet, while the scale of the subsequent financial crisis could not have been foreseen at the time of the 2007 floods, the issue remains equally pressing, even more so if the climate change analysts are to be believed. In short, communities across Yorkshire, and the rest of the country, desperately need new flood defences – irrespective of the spending squeeze.

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It is a question of how they should be funded, and how the coalition Government can reconcile the political impasse that it has had the misfortune to inherit. The problem is that while the flood prevention budget has increased, so has the expectation of the amount of work that is needed to mitigate future disasters. And while the insurance industry has a responsibility to offer cover to homeowners, premiums will simply be forced up if they are ordered to do so with a rising flood risk.

Caroline Spelman, the Environment Secretary, deserves credit for prioritising this issue and accepting that the public's worries transcend politics. Yet, while she attempts to get to grips with the number-crunching, she can certainly help many families by encouraging councils to be more pragmatic.

As well as making sure that new developments are restricted on river plains, local authorities should be insisting that all new planning applications have the very latest drainage and anti-flood measures when they are built. It will be a start, but at least it will recognise the policy's importance and demonstrate that intransigence is not a realistic, or acceptable, policy.