"So," Arturo said, "it seems that 'dredging' is now the flavour of the month!" He indicated the screen of his new iPad.
There I read the headline:
David Cameron vows to start dredging rivers to tackle flooding crisis in the Somerset Levels
The article in
The Mirror was written by
Tom McTague. He went on to quote from
'Boy David' Cameron's answers to questions in the House of Commons:
Mr Cameron said: “We now need to move more rapidly to the issues like dredging which I think will help to make a long-term difference.
“It is not currently safe to dredge in the Levels.
“But I can confirm that dredging will start as soon as it is practical, as soon as the waters have started to come down.”
... “We are urgently exploring what further help the Government can give local residents to move around and I rule nothing out in the days ahead to get this problem sorted.”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/somerset-levels-flooding-david-cameron-3091207#ixzz2squEk2LD
"Funny that!" Arturo said. "Not so long ago,
'Boy David' Cameron was saying that
Environment Secretary, Owen Patterson,'was doing an “
excellent job”'. Our PM certainly likes to keep the right side of public opinion. He'd jump through hoops of fire if he thought it would give him good press. He's not forgotten his days as a PR man!"
Of course, Arturo is right! The
Somerset Levels were far from Cameron's mind 18 months ago according to
Simon Wright in
The Mirror:
A furious farmer who predicted the floods SIX MONTHS ago has told how the Prime Minister snubbed his pleas for help dredging neglected rivers.
Edwin White, 73, wrote to David Cameron warning of the disaster as long ago as August, and begging for a government to match a self-help fund raised by villagers to clear the waterways in the Somerset Levels.
The PM failed to respond, passing it on to then floods minister Richard Benyon – who dismissed the idea.
Last night Mr White from Wells in swamped Somerset said: “It was a disaster waiting to happen and I told Mr Cameron so.
“I know the rivers and how they’ve been neglected over the years. It makes my blood boil now to see the misery that has been caused.
“It’s also hugely frustrating to think of how much it will now cost the whole country to clear up.”
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/farmer-warned-david-cameron-floods-3127229#ixzz2srF07uMs
Oh dear! That's something our
'Boy David' Cameron would like to forget
'failed to respond', did he?
Now, however, he's putting some real weight behind the problem. Never one to do things by halves, this time he's looked around and come up with an answer to his PR woes. And what is this, do I hear you ask? Well ... the answer lies in the form of one
'Bagpuss' Pickles - no less!
Communities Secretary, Eric 'Bagpuss' Pickles has stepped up! Since Patterson was by now on sick leave, there was a vacuum at the core of
Government Policy on flooding. To fill that vacuum - as only one man could - 'Bagpuss' Pickles casting caution to the wind said:
"We made a mistake, there's no doubt about that and we perhaps relied too much on the Environment Agency's advice," Mr Pickles told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show.
"We recognise that we should have dredged and I think it is important now that we get on the process of getting those people back into their houses once we are able to really do some serious pumping."
That was reported in
Antonia Molloy's article in
The Independent under the headline:
Eric Pickles: Government made 'mistake' in taking the advice of the Environment Agency
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/eric-pickles-government-made-mistake-in-taking-the-advice-of-the-environment-agency-9117340.html>
Meanwhile, Cameron is chairing
COBRA! Personally, I never had him down for a snake charmer! In fact, I never had him down as any sort of charmer! Shows how wrong one can be!
Arturo and me got fed up with all this talk of dredging. So we're going out to have a real good helping of
Mississippi Mud Pie!!
Tasty lookin'! Sure is!
'Bye from Arturo and me!
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