David Watts Calls On Government to Declare A National Emergency Over Flooding
After visiting a number of flood hit parts of the Newark constituency this weekend Lib Dem parliamentary candidate David Watts has called on the government to declare a national emergency.
Mr Watts said:
"The flooding around Newark is really serious. Huge areas remain under water and communities have been cut off from each other. I think we are lucky that not more properties have flooded, but for every person whose house is under water it is a devastating experience. I'm speaking here with first hand knowledge. My home was flooded in 2013 and we were unable to live in it for six months. Watching all your possessions being put into a skip is absolutely heart-breaking, and even with insurance it takes ages to get everything back to normal. The £500 per family that the prime minister offered was, frankly, insulting. He clearly has no idea how ordinary people live. If the Government actually cared about people in the north and the Midlands they would have declared a national emergency and applied to the EU for funds from their Solidarity Fund which exists to help countries tackle natural disasters. It's really hard to understand why they haven't done this.
The EU's solidarity fund exists so that member states can apply to the EU for extra funds to help tackle natural disasters. For regional emergencies, the amount given depends on the scale of the damage and cost of the operations. It is capped depending on the size of the area's economy. In theory the government could apply for up to for €509m (£436m), on behalf of South Yorkshire, the EU says. In total the UK has received almost £200m from the fund - making it the fourth largest beneficiary after Italy, Germany and France, according to the EU.
Local Election Results May 2023
A spectacular set of elections both nationally and locally here in Newark and Sherwood!
Overall Lib Dem gains were 405 nationally, which posed a problem for Sky News, whose swingometer apparently was not able to contemplate a set of gains of this magnitude. We exceeded 'Exceeded Expectations'!
Our local gains at the district level saw the addition of our third District Councillor with the victory of Keith Melton in Trent Ward. We also kept 2 of 3 councillors for Southwell, now Karen Roberts and Peter Harris. We were encouraged to see the increase in our share of votes in other seats where we were able to field candidtes. Congratulations to everyone.
We had a very good performance in Southwell Town Council, gaining 10 of the 14 seats for which there were candidates, with 6 of these won in elections and 4 being uncontested. Two Conservatives, one Labour candidate and one Independent were also successful. One place on the council remains to be appointed to.
The Conservatives had a terrible set of district and parish elections, losing about half of their district councillors and many PCs. The final DC result was Conservative 14, Labour 11, Independents 11 (8 for Independents for Newark and 3 for other Independents) and Lib Dems 3. Discussions will take place for some time on the composition of the new administration, which is unlikely to include Conservatives for the first time since 2007.
On behalf of the executive, we are extremely grateful to everyone who stood as candidates, as well as everyone who performed the various roles which were necessary for the campaigns. We are a small party and many of you worked very hard.
We are very grateful for their past work to councillors who have stood down at this election, including Peter Scorer and Stuart Thompstone. Malcolm Brock has stood down from the District, though continues to serve on Southwell TC.
We welcome new members to the party, who were motivated by this campaign. This phenomenon was particularly marked in Trent Ward. Upton support has to be singled out, evidenced for anyone who drove through, by the huge number of LD stakeboards and posters.
Philip Barron
Chair, Newark Liberal Democrats
7 May 2023