Nobody can stop a storm but the Government can and must prevent the predictable damage. The repeated extreme flooding events we have witnessed were not all inevitable but they were worsened by delay, underinvestment and a lack of urgency. Communities have repeatedly shown extraordinary levels of resilience but that is not a substitute for investment. People deserve more than hand-wringing, sympathy and sandbags. They deserve infrastructure and ongoing maintenance that safeguards their homes, farms and businesses. They deserve the Government acting before disaster strikes and not after with emergency payments. Yes, they are necessary but they are not, in and of themselves, a flood policy. They are a response after devastation and not protection beforehand. This is not just about those vital flood defences. There is a serious element to this around the restoration and maintenance of our riverways, public safety and fairness because what was once exceptional is now too often routine. The science has been very clear for a long number of years. Warnings were repeatedly put out there, and yet too many communities are enduring a relentless cycle of flooding, fear and neglect. Homes have been destroyed, farms battered and small businesses pushed to the brink, and with insurance withdrawn. Families are still told to wait for studies, plans and processes that all move at glacial speed. This represents a profound disconnect from the reality of the urgency that exists on the ground. Yes, flood relief and prevention schemes are complex, yet oversight matters. The excessive timeline from planning to procurement to completion is simply unacceptable. Communities cannot remain trapped behind red tape while risks escalate year after year. Those communities need urgency. We need delivery. We need long-term investment in flood mitigation and climate adaptation. Above all, though, we need a Government that treats flooding not as an occasional emergency but with the same level of priority as communities feel when they watch in horror and fear, time and again, as the water levels rise, destroying everything they have worked for.

Sentiment score: -0.11