Lack Of Accountability

In 2007 the Pitt review told us that climate alter was going to greatly increment the incidence of tape breaking bursts of rainfall inwards the UK. The Labour authorities responded yesteryear substantially increasing their spending on overflowing defences inwards the spending review which ended inwards 2010/11.

The coalition authorities reversed those increases, leading to abrupt falls inwards spending on overflowing prevention. Five years together with many costly floods later, George Osborne has finally admitted he was incorrect yesteryear announcing a substantial increment inwards coin for overflowing defences. After beingness told yesteryear the government, i overflowing disaster after another, that they were doing everything that was possible, they convey at i time decided that peradventure it would live a skillful thought to pass more.

H5N1 bigger mea culpa y'all could non find. Yet if y'all google “austerity flooding”, it is withal my spider web log post service that comes top. When the floods hitting but about Christmas inwards 2013, no i seemed to desire to connect the two. The authorities seemed immune to criticism, together with successfully directed whatsoever culpability to the Environment Agency (who could non reply back). Even amongst the latest floods, exterior the pages of the Guardian or Independent at that spot was picayune criticism of before spending decisions. Yes Labour were deadening out of the blocks inwards attacking the government, but are nosotros actually inwards a media the world where if a senior political leader does non utter almost something it becomes a non-subject?

Chris Dillow asks why Osborne is non given the scorn together with derision he deserves. As e'er he gives many possible answers, but to many people i cistron higher upwards all explains what is going on. It tin live summarised yesteryear the next nautical chart from the IFS, looking at who wins together with who loses from this latest budget.

As I noted inwards my lastly post, Osborne felt he had to gain a budget similar this for reasons that convey exclusively to exercise amongst who volition live the side yesteryear side leader of the Conservative Party. Yet many volition conclude that he (almost) gets away amongst it because it is inwards the interests of those who command the media to allow him teach away amongst it.

While at that spot is undoubtedly some truth inwards this, I exercise non intend this is quite the killer explanation that some suppose. Another of import cistron is that nosotros convey been living through a catamenia inwards which the demand to cutting spending to trim down the deficit has entered the national consciousness every bit non exclusively an undeniable truth, but an imperative that dominated all other concerns. So potent was that conviction that it helped win the Conservatives an election, despite the fact that they pledged to brand the deficit worse yesteryear cutting taxes. Osborne had successfully characterised himself every bit the political leader brave plenty to ‘make the difficult choices’ required to fulfil that imperative.

But every bit I convey argued before, this belief that what George did together with continues to exercise on cuts is an undeniable necessity is a production of the events of the recent past, rather than some immutable thought that the patch volition forever hold. The most meaning utilization of Iain Duncan Smith’s resignation letter is the following:

“I am unable to spotter passively whilst for sure policies are enacted inwards gild to come across the financial self-imposed restraints that I believe are to a greater extent than together with to a greater extent than perceived every bit distinctly political rather than inwards the national economical interest.”

So a plea to political journalists together with commentators. Forget the spin that this resignation is all almost the European Union plebiscite (which, similar all skillful spin, has an chemical portion of truth) together with focus on this sentence. The thought that amongst his cuts George was together with is exclusively doing what had together with has to live done is crumbling, together with y'all exercise non desire to live the lastly to notice. Start belongings our authorities to account, non but for benefits cuts but also for the harm caused yesteryear flooding, together with higher upwards all for the dire functioning of the U.K. economic scheme relative to the past.