Environment Secretaries come and go like the tide: is it any wonder there is no plan for flooding?

Readers of The Yorkshire Post will recall the scolding Mr Johnson received from residents of Fishlake in South Yorkshire, who begged to differ with his assessment. At the time, there were around 130 flood warnings in place across England.

Valentine’s Day weekend, 2020, and once again the region was under flood water. Similarly, in a bid to move the Prime Minister, from outrageously complacent to at least moderately concerned, the front page of this newspaper rang out this front page headline: We’re drowning, Prime Minister.

It was a desperate plea to then Prime Minister Boris Johnson, just a few months into his premiership, as homes and businesses were quite literally going under water, asking him to redouble efforts, expertise and investment in the national flood prevention strategy.

Fast-forwards to the present day, and the third Prime Minister in two years. As this column was being penned, there were 190 flood warnings in place in England with the rivers Trent, Severn and Thames all having burst their banks – with overtopping of the likes of the Ouse barely registering as a footnote – and Rishi Sunak is the latest Prime Minister to be under pressure to formulate a plan.

Yet it is little wonder there isn’t one. Since Fishlake succumbed to flooding that remains a scar on its residents even today, there have been five different Environment Secretaries. They come and go like the tide. Theresa Villiers, George Eustace, Ranil Jayawardena (don’t ask!), Therese Coffey and now Steve Barclay. Is it any wonder people have lost hope?