Please note that the post below was published more than ten year ago on 21st November 2009 Nick Herbert MP, shadow cabinet member for the Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs, was in Cumbria this morning to see the areas affected by the flooding. He writes on Conservative Home about his visit. Here is an extract. I’ve been in Cumbria today to see the areas affected by the floods. I arrived early in Keswick where I met officials from the Environment Agency. Although the river levels had fallen considerably and homes were no longer flooded, the damage to homes had been done. And the water which had got into houses wasn’t just from the river – it was foul water which had risen from the drains. I talked to fire crews who were pumping flood water back into the river, and discovered that they were from Tyne & Wear and Lancashire. They had been called in at an hours’ notice and had been working on the scene ever since, staying at a local hotel. You cannot fail to be impressed by the
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"quietly filling a 100 gallon drum from a lake, carrying it to the other side, spilling 25 gallons on the way, then pouring it back in, in front of a large crowd, to a great fan fare about how its raising the water level.
That's why governments should concentrate on the collective tasks which have to be done by government, such as justice and security, and others where there is a particularly strong case for public provisions (in Britain almost everyone believes that there should be national provision of schools and hospitals) but must not try to directly provide everything which society needs. That way lies national bankruptcy.