It's a floody disgrace

DAVID Howard is right. The biggest crime in the UK today is being honest and working hard to make ends meet. Then this government milks you for as much tax as it can and gives you sweet FA. Gordon Brown's aid package is too little, too late — as always.

So if your home floods tomorrow, don't hold your breath waiting for government help.

And don't expect Gordon to apologise for overseeing an economy where soaring interest rates have forced homeowners to choose between paying their mortgage - or their insurance.

Those people are hardest hit by the floods that have ravaged huge swathes of Britain over the past ten days, and it makes me angry.

With interest rates up again this week, Mr Brown who was Labour's money-man for the past decade cannot duck responsibility.

No wonder sheet metal worker David Howard tried to confront the new PM when he visited flood-hit Toll Bar, Yorkshire.

Mr Howard helped organise citizens' patrols against looters and says 80 per cent of his neighbours have no insurance.

If the waters had begun to rise in London, the Army would have been on the streets and you wouldn't have been able to move for ‘flood-crisis consultants' and their ilk.

But in Toll Bar even the police didn't turn up for the first three days, let alone anyone else.

There always seems to be plenty of cash when it comes to paying legal aid or benefits for those suspected of terrorism.

What about stumping up some money for ordinary working people who have paid taxes all their lives and need help, Mr Brown?

Comments

[Douglas]

I feel that when local authorities allow developers to build on land that has the potential of flooding they should take full responsibility and be held totally accountable for their actions,after all they have all the statistics available to them to calculate the potential of flooding and documented history of specific areas for potential flooding

so with the over inflated rates they charge occupiers for new homes they should meet their obligations when they get it wrong and allow innocent people to buy proerty on land that has the potential for flooding for whatever reason.

To expect insurance companies to bail them out when the inevitable happens is unacceptable,as you know insurance companies survive on profit, will they be keen to insure the areas that were flooded previously unless there are heavy premium penalties are imposed, it may ease if the know that local authorities are now going to do something to stop such a disaster happening again.

In conclusion,I believe the local authorities should take full responsibility for their neglegent actions in allowing developers to obtain building permission to build homes for unsuspecting residents in areas that have the potential for flooding and should meet all costs involved to residents that have been affected.

I hope all the residents who have been flooded have formed an action group to jointly sue the local authorities for there neglect and lack of proactive actions in preventing such a disaster happening and negative support once the inevitable happened.

[eric jenkins]

if councillers used their heads instead of sitting in office to fill their pockets they would dredge the riverbeds and clear the silt that has collected over the years instead of building banks along the rivers and diverting the water elsewhere. all it would need is about eighteen inches cleared from the bed of each river to solve most of the flooding problems. also refusing planning on natural flood planes no matter how much the builders contribute. so come on you people who are supposed to be looking after your constituents pull your heads out of the silt and get on with it. ok it will cost but it will save in the future.

[ANTHONY JOYNT]

David Howard is an absolute disgrace. What gives him the right to demand help from the Government when he has no home insurance. It was his decision not to insure his home and he must live with the consequences of his actions. If we all knew the government would bail us out at evry turn none of us would have any insurance. In my opinion the £14 million that the Government has pledged is £14 million too much and help should only be made available to people with home insurance. I'm sure everyone has heard the saying 'you get what you pay for'. In this case if you paid for home insurance you get help, if you didn't then tough!
I'm sure there are ways that people could have cut back on a few luxuries to pay for home insurance.

[Dennis]

We live in an area to the south of rotherham and have been flooded out by water and sewerage. I have been employed all my life and have worked hard to put my daughter through university.

A lot of the time we have done without luxuries but have managed to pay my way without holding my hand out to any body.We look like being out of our home for at least 6 months and have lost everything on the ground floor.When contacting local services nobody was interested and consequently nothing would got done.

we even had to pump the water out ourselves now nobody wants to put their hand up and accept responsibility although the council has allowed 2 housing estates to be built with permission to raise the land and discharge surface water into a small dyke no wonder we were flooded.

[andrew martin-smith]

It seems the nanny state is good at raising taxes and finding money for its pet projects, but when it comes to helping, or protecting its citizens, it fails miserably. Look forward to a new era of tax and spend. The last englishman to leave the UK please turn the lights out.

[Linda]

Yes i agree with Mr Howard my husband works 70 hours a week and i work my daughters go college we pay alot of tax we have to work these hours to make ends meet my daughters get no money no ema you work hard you pay hard tax and get no where unless your on benefits. cheating govermont.

[les]

i agree with Mr Howard the people of Hull have been let down by this goverment the only people to get serious help are people who have paid nothing in and take benefits out the the NHS is a prime example if you dont pay dont collect whatever your nationality or religion it is time we looked after our own people and stopped letting everyone come here for a free ride i am sick of seeing non british living in free accomodation and getting special treatment we have people with terminal illness being refused treatment whilst we pay £5000 per day to keep a terroist alive who wanted to blow himself to kingdom come let him go there and treat our own people

[Phil from Salford]

Many years ago a fire at my home destroyed nearly everything. i had no insurance. I therefor had to start again from scratch, without help from the goverment. Some years later a water burst in my house, destroyed lots of the contents. I had insurance, and all my contents were replaced for me by the insurance company. This is life, we have choises, and some of the choises we make in life, make a difference. My sympathies,may all flood victims recover from your losses, sooner rather than later.

[martin]

in response to Posted by: Karen | Jul 8, 2007 12:51:34 PM
You must live in a diffrent world every one else.i live in hull and when i took my mortage i could easily afford it but then my poll / council TAX went upto £30 a week my insurance went from £200 a year to £550 , my utility bill have gone up to 3 times there amount average £90 a month each for gas / electric, water gone from £400 a year to just short of £700 and all this in 18 months, what is the point in working for a living when the goverment is giving better help to the lazy spongers and i have to pay for them.The point is 18 months ago working people could manage but we are been cricufied by labour again and again , it will only get worse.

[Graham]

I absolutely agree with the likes of people such as David Howard. He is bang on with the fact that if it had been in London or the home counties then aid would have been immediate and in abundance. Where was their elected M.P. John Prescott during this crisis?, where was the national news?,

Daily we as a nation have only seen bits labelled as South Yorkshire and automatically thought all areas where being helped by the government.Typical new labour,loads of spin and talk but no real action.My heart goes out to all of you and i can only hope and pray that you get your lifestyle back asap.

[Karen]

I really feel for the flood hit areas. We live in Surrey and we flooded in 2000. We live in a bungalow and lost everything. We got no help, had to pay for sandbags, our insurance company have said one more chance so what do we do then? We still suffer the consequences now.

I totally agree with David Howard, at last someone is speaking up for the hardworking, tax paying people who are not helped at all. I hope the money for flood defences that the government is pledging is going to help the forgotton people from the 2000 floods.

[John]

While my sympathies are with those affected by the floods and one would hate to have it happen to anyone. The purpose of insurance is to cover these things, yes possibly one or two and I mean literally one or two could not afford or get insurance the majority could.

They chose not to because they thought they wouldn't need it, wrong decision but their decision they must now live with their decison. Some will say they could not afford it yet many find money for alcohol and cigarettes and holidays, let's not pretend they couldn't afford it they made a choice, a wrong choisce they must live with it.

Two things that have annoyed me in the last week are people complaining about increased mortgages because they have overstretched themselves if they cannot afford to live with rates varying by a 5 or so percent either way then they are overstretching themselves,

its not that long ago that mortgage rates touched 15% and the other is the uninsured complaining and about floods. Both these problems were caused by their own decisions not mine.

To compare the isolated UK floods to the major disasters in Africa and the third world is ludicrous and merely show the lack of knowledge by certain correspondents of the real situation in other areas of the world.

[Graeme Hewitt]

In days gone by councils regularly cleaned out drains and gulleys. Waterways and ditches were cleared of weed and silt by dredging - going back to days when it was done by a gang of hard working labourers.

Now with vast areas being turned over to housing estates the infrastructure is minimal. We need to return to the victorian age when drains were built for the future - vast brick vaults big enough to drive a car through.

Now a two foot diameter pipe is deemed to be adequate - untl we get an exceptional down pour. The fault has to lie with the councils who continue to allow planning permission at the drop of a hat - under pressure from the government to house thousands of immigrants with little thought for the maintenance of the existing over stretched services.

[steve grimes]

i am fed up of all these people blaming others and demanding cash aid off the govt take responsibility for your own lives hint: house insurance
why should my taxes go to sort you lot out
in the words of JFK, think not what my country can do for me but what i can do for my country.

i have no sympathy whatsoever for anyone who does not spend a few hunderd pounds a year on nessecities like insurance home and health, and dont say you cant afford it, how much a week do you spend on beer fags and bingo?

[ALi]

Chris, dont forget there would also be a public holiday each year to remember the events.

[wayne]

I think its a bloody disgrace. In some parts of the country the council were even making residents buy sandbags off the council for £9.40 each and some councils gave residents sandbags without sand.

I mention this on my blog.

[Elle Jay]

I'm afraid this might not be a popoular comment - I live and work in Hull and saw and experienced first hand just how devastating the flood damage can be.

I'm also a single mother who works hard to pay not only the mortgage but also all the associated costs with owning a property including contents insurance...our budget is ridiculously tight and have no spare cash for holidays abroad or up to date tv's and phones so it galls somewhat to hear Hull residents insisting on Government aid because they didn't have insurance.

I know of two people who chose holidays and luxuries over essentials and now think it's the state's responsibility to fund their new needs. Of course they're also the people who are most vocal over the need for the state to provide. Shame on You

[Beth]

Are you aware that some insurance companies are refusing to re-insure if your post code is the same as the flooded areas. We live a couple of miles away from the nearest flooded area and oh at the top of a hill but the post code is against us. What chance have the flooded people of re-insuring?

[Donna from Rainham]

I do feel the government need to help to stop this from happening again, but why are so many without insurance? Why should the taxpyer pay for people who cannot be bothered to pay for insurance.

[jacks954]

Well done to the Postmaster at Toll-Bar Yorkshire.True British Bull-Dog spirit.He should get a gong.

[Chris from Bolton]

My heart goes out to the people ot Toll Bar & every other town affected by these floods. Mr Angry you are right, if this was London the Army would have been involved, more over if this was in Africa, Geldoff and Bonehead would be organising a concert to raise funds!

Where are they now it is on our own door step?