Chairman Lord Smith, the head of the Environment Agency has said while agricultural land was important, government rules placed the highest priority on lives and homes
…..this involves tricky issues of policy and priority: town or country, front rooms or farmland?
Flood defences cost money; and how much should the taxpayer be prepared to spend on different places, communities and livelihoods – in Somerset, Lincolnshire, Yorkshire, or East Anglia?
I’m sure this will kick start ‘independence for Cornwall’ and I’m sure many other areas may follow suit, as they all know that Westminster is London centric. The current flood situation due to the bad weather highlights that the hegemony of Westminster needs to be broken up and decentralised. Budgets should be given to local councils to manage their own affairs under the guidance of the local community.