Please be patient '“ Cameron's response to floods

The Prime Minister warns that “action cannot happen overnight” after finally responding to The Yorkshire Post’s open letter which was published on January 26, a month after swathes of the county were left submerged by the Boxing Day storms.

Read Mr Cameron’s response in full

Though Mr Cameron makes no new policy – or funding – undertakings in a thorough response which he personally signed, he does accept the need to look again at flood defences, and related issues, after cities like York came perilously close to suffering even greater devastation.

“Flood defences were crucial and protected in excess of 22,000 properties in Yorkshire,” writes the Prime Minister. “However, now that the flood waters have receded, it is clear that in many places, we need to look again at our defences to make sure they can cope with the new conditions caused by increasingly extreme weather.

“This Government has committed more to flood defence and maintenance than any other but we are still looking at where we can do more. I have been clear that we will do absolutely everything we can to help the people of Yorkshire...I also ask for your patience, as this action cannot happen overnight.”

The letter was dated last Friday – the tumultuous day which culminated with Iain Duncan Smith’s Cabinet resignation.

It follows a particularly challenging two months for the Prime Minister in which his Government’s slow response to the floods was repeatedly criticised for failing to recognise the scale of the damage – and the cost of repairing damaged roads and bridges – as some companies were forced out of business.

His initial goodwill visit to York on December 28, to stand alongside members of the Armed Forces and emergency services in the swollen waters of the Ouse, came under fire because he did not meet actual victims to hear their tales of frustration.

As accusations grew that a flood defence scheme for the Thames Valley, Mr Cameron’s home patch, was given precedence over the Leeds relief plan which was a victim of coalition cuts in 2011, council leaders had to fight for contingency funding to repair key bridges, such as those in Tadcaster and Elland, which collapsed under the weight of water.

This anger was compounded 10 days ago by Mr Cameron’s now infamous “I love Yorkshire & Humber” article which was spiked by this newspaper because it made inadequate reference to the floods. The fallout became a national story.

Though the PM’s letter does not refer to this embarrassing episode, he does make reference to last week’s Budget and the funding announcements made by George Osborne, his under-fire Chancellor, while disputing the suggestion that there is a North-South divide over funding.

“We are investing £54 per person across Yorkshire, Lancashire and Cumbria, as well as the East Midlands and Northumbria,” he adds. “In comparison, we are investing £42 per person in the South East in the current six-year programme. I hope that this letter provides reassurance that the Government remains focussed on helping people of Yorkshire get their homes, businesses and communities back up and running.”