On the day when Coalition Ministers and local MP’s paid a visit to the disaster zone that the Somerset levels has become to wring their hands and look like they’re doing something about it (despite having voted through the cuts to the Environment Agency in the first place) Labour candidate for Bridgwater and West Somerset, Mick Lerry, made his own journey around the new inland sea on his bike. Mick reports back on what he saw.
“As suspected, we have an official response to this new flood spending data, which shows that spending has not increased under this Government.” Cllr Mick Lerry said: “I agree with Maria Eagle MP it must be humiliating for David Cameron and Owen Paterson that they have finally been forced to reveal that spending on flood protection was not protected when cuts to the Environment Department’s budget were made. The Prime Minister must now stop repeating his misleading claim that more is being spent in the current four year period than in the previous four years when these new figures reveal that is simply not true. The Government should also stop including money that they hope to attract from external contributions but have so far failed to secure.”
Coalition MP’s ‘Voted for these cuts’
“Instead of spending time spinning away their failure to prioritise flood protection, David Cameron and Owen Paterson should focus on completing the review that they have been forced to undertake under pressure from Ed Miliband.”
Mick also said: “Tessa Munt MP, Ian Liddell-Grainger MP and Jeremy Browne MP have all voted for the cuts in Treasury and Environment spending, they should now ask for Government funding to dredge the river Parrett”.
• Editors’ notes:
• Revised figures published by Defra today (16 January 2014) reveal:
• Total spending on flood protection has fallen from £670.1million in 2010/11 to £576.3million in 2013/14.
• Total spending across the four year period (2011-2015) is £2.34bn, compared £2.37bn over the previous four year period (2007-2011).
• The additional £148million proposed to come from ‘external contributions’ has not yet been secured.
Cllr Mick Lerry-Leader of the Labour Group on SDC
Labour Parliamentary Candidate for Bridgwater and West Somerset.
Email: michael.lerry@btinternet.com
Mobile: 07775905080