So the Environment Secretary Owen Paterson has been out to visit the flooded Somerset Levels. The self confessed climate change sceptic was seen on television looking somewhat sheepish surrounded by angry residents as he pledged an action plan to provide a long term solution. Pushed on the issue, he also promised to sign off on any proposal of measures needing immediate funding. This is a knee jerk reaction from Paterson. What is actually going on here? Why have vast swathes of southern England been under water for over six weeks now with key roads blocked and communities cut off from essential services? The answer lies only partly in the weather. This time around the flooding has resulted from a sustained period of heavy rainfall; the wettest January on record for the south of England, according to the Met Office.
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