Labour leader Ed Miliband arrived in Bridgwater this morning and immediately went to the flood stricken area of Moorland accompanied by Labour councillor Julian Taylor, who had been evacuated from his Fordgate home by floods last week and Labours Parliamentary candidate for Bridgwater and Sedgemoor Labour leader Mick Lerry.
Ed met some of the victims of the floods and directly addressing the issue of insurance he said “What we can’t have is the anguish of people being driven from their homes being made worse by insurance companies dragging their feet. That’s why the Government has to force the Insurance industry to set a clear standard for people having their temporary expenses covered and how quickly they can get the help so they can get back into their homes. We can’t have a situation where people are put into a position where they find that insurance is totally unaffordable for them”.
‘Priority now to ensure people getting the help they need’
He went on to echo residents views about the Government response to the crisis saying “What I’m hearing from people here I;m afraid is that the Government’s response was too slow. They were too slow to realise the seriousness of the situation facing people here. The priority now is to make sure that people are getting all the help they need especially with regard to insurance cover. If we are to reflect the concerns of the people in these areas we have to listen to them and that’s why I’m here today, and also frankly to thank the Environment Agency staff who’ve been doing a great job”
Cllr Mick Lerry, who, as leader of the opposition on Sedgemoor District Council, has been part of developing and signing off the Action Plan, now 3 weeks into preparation, said “The key elements of the Action Plan are the creation of a barrage on the Parret that let’s water out but not in and Dredging of the river from Mouth to Source. Before SDC declared a “major incident” there had been no contact from DEFRA. At the same time the EA have a criteria to operate with the resources given by Government, protect high density areas of housing and businesses and areas of housing deprivation. The ConDem Government also failed to implement the Pitt review recommendations and all local Tory or LibDem MPs voted through the massive cutbacks to Flood defences.“.
Cllr Julian Taylor said “Cameron has made plenty of promises, yet no details how the work needed is to be paid for. Is this full funding, is it in grant aid to be reclaimed? How are cut back councils able to pay the bills? Has the Home Office funded the police and fire service? It is clear that Patterson and Cameron are out of their depth.”