These excuses over Yorkshire flooding summit don’t hold water – The Yorkshire Post says

Nor will it wash with all those communities here who have seen their homes and businesses ruined – and who live in constant fear of similar devastation in the future because of the failure of successive governments to protect vulnerable areas.

It is, frankly, risible to blame the Covid-19 pandemic, and social distancing, for Defra’s failure to hold the Yorkshire-wide meeting repeatedly promised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson and George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, when Zoom meetings online have become the norm for the rest of the Government and businesses across the UK.

And if this is the genuine reason for restricting today’s meeting to just South Yorkshire, why did Rebecca Pow, the Flooding Minister, not explain this when she was questioned in the House of Commons last week? However, while her subsequent response to Yorkshire councils is slightly more tactful, it does not reassure areas at risk of flooding.

They know, just as night follows day, that a region-wide ‘round table’ is, in fact, inevitable. It will either be a proactive meeting that brings the key organisations together to decide how best to protect homes this winter, and the lessons than can be learned from previous disasters.

Or it will be a reactive meeting of Cobra, the Cabinet’s emergency committee, when this region is confronted by more damage, devastation and families facing financial ruin because they were unable to source affordable insurance.

As such, The Yorkshire Post awaits the outcome of today’s meeting with interest. Five years after the response to the 2015 Boxing Day floods was slammed as ‘indefensible’, the outcome will reveal whether London Ministers can be trusted on this issue – or not.

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.

Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you’ll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson