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Wednesday 5 February 2014

Has Dave forgotten the droughts?

Old man tests drought control measures - from the BBC

From the delightfully unreliable BBC we hear Dave is concerned about flooding.

"Whatever is required ...this government will help those families and get this issue sorted."

Those words from David Cameron at Prime Minister's Questions were the clearest possible sign that he knows that he needs to be seen to be getting a grip on the fallout of the floods and the storms.

So too his decision to take the chair of today's COBRA emergency committee and to find £100m more of taxpayers money to spend on flood defences.

This belated rush to look in charge was forced by some pretty strong words of criticism.


Has Dave forgotten that one major policy reason we don't need to spend much on flood defences is because of the expected droughts caused by climate change? Has he read this Defra report from 2002 about the risk to crops from said droughts?

The project will provide an assessment of the risk posed by increased incidence of drought conditions, due to likely climate change over the next 30 years, to production of two key UK crops: winter wheat and sugar beet.

Blimey - don't tell me they are making it up as they go along. That would never do.

4 comments:

Sackerson said...

Remember Dennis Howell, Minister for Drought in 1976 - and for Floods, shortly afterwards.

A K Haart said...

Sackers - I'd forgotten old Dennis. Amazing how these things keep coming round again. Maybe the weather is just what we always assumed - unreliable.

Mac said...

Making it up on the hoof? I'm sure you're right. Problem seems to be that the folk in the 'Make It Up Quick' department haven't a clue how to make stuff up.
June? Hosepipe ban?
You reckon Dave rolled up for his COBRA meeting in camo? Or SBS kit?

A K Haart said...

Mac - I bet he'd love to arrive in SBS kit - and he wouldn't be the only one.