Following flooding incidents across the country and specifically in Southsea this week, Stephen Morgan MP has called for the Government to take greater action to protect communities vulnerable to flooding.
It comes as Storm Babet wrecked havoc across the UK last week, with flooding leading to the loss of seven lives and hundreds homeless. Entire areas were cut off due to flooding and the Met Office issued two rare red ‘danger to life’ warnings for parts of Scotland.
As a coastal city, Portsmouth is also vulnerable to flooding during periods of heavy rainfall. This week a number of properties in Southsea have been subjected to flooding as a result of poor weather. The city MP has written to those householders affected to offer his support.
Mr Morgan said the Government has shown complacency with people’s livelihoods and should have been prepared to support vulnerable areas in advance of incoming storms affecting large parts of the country.
The Government’s failure to act against the risk of floods has cost the economy nearly £4 billion pound since 2010, new analysis from Labour has found. Four major floods have hit Britain since 2010 costing £3.8 billion pounds with thousands of homes destroyed, businesses decimated, and agriculture dilapidated.
Labour have announced plans to establish a Flood Resilience Taskforce that will meet every winter ahead of the peak season for flooding.
The COBRA-style taskforce will coordinate flooding preparation and resilience between central government, local authorities, local communities, and emergency services.
It will ensure that vulnerable areas are identified and protected – including drainage systems, flood defences and natural flood management schemes in communities, completed on time.
The taskforce will also provide accountability for progress on flood prevention in areas at risk before floods take place.
Commenting, Stephen Morgan MP, said:
“In Portsmouth and across the country communities have been left unnecessarily exposed to flood risks and damage for too long.
“Communities who are preparing for a difficult winter around the UK should be given confidence that if the worst comes to worst, there is a plan in place to coordinate responses and keep people, their homes, and their businesses safe.
That’s why I’m calling on the Government to back plans which would see communities up and down the country better protected from the risks of flooding and better supported when it unfortunately does occur.”
Steve Reed MP, Labour’s Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, said:
“My heart goes out to all families and businesses whose lives and livelihoods have been damaged by these floods.
“The Conservatives’ sticking-plaster approach has left communities devastated and cost the economy billions of pounds.
“In government, Labour will set up a Flood Resilience Taskforce that meets before every winter to make sure there is better coordination between national and local government and emergency services on the ground, so we give communities and local economies far better protection against flood damage.”
The Portsmouth South representative has also made protecting Portsmouth’s precious environment one of his key priorities, lobbying for long-term measures that protect communities from volatile weather patterns, more intense rainfall, and more floods.
