Lib Dems lead way on flood defence

3.10.20pm BST (GMT +0100) Tue 15th Apr 2008

The Lib Dems will increase the flood defence budget by £400m

Liz Leffman, Prospective Liberal Democrat MP for Meon Valley, has hailed her party's commitment to increasing the flood defence budget by £400million as 'a crucial decision'.

Liz has been calling for more investment and effort into flood prevention over recent months and is delighted her party has taken the lead on a subject the government seem frightened to touch.

"The floods of June and July cost the country over £3 billion, so I have been hammering home the importance of putting more measures of prevention in place - more investment in drainage and flood defences - so we stop wasting money in the long run," Liz said.

"Many villages in the Meon Valley area are vulnerable to flooding and back in January we saw two residents rescued from their homes in Rowlands Castle due to 4ft of flood water, so this isn't something that can just be brushed off by the government."

Liz added: "The Liberal Democrats have now made a very important and crucial decision to call for a new Flooding Act and have made a commitment to increasing the floods defence budget by £400million, which has heaped pressure on Gordon Brown to revise his policy on preventing flooding."