RECENT flooding in the south of England has brought into sharp focus how “rolling back the state” can have serious consequences.

Kersten England, chief executive of City of York Council, has stated that despite York being well-drilled in flood management, the cost of flood protection is more than councils can afford.

However, despite Government claims to the contrary, cutting back on flood defences when climate change suggests a need for real increases is plainly ideological (interestingly, it was one of the first areas to be cut after the Coalition came to power).

What is more extraordinary is “the bigger dishonesty here in the attempt to rewrite history and try to take credit for the high spending inherited from Labour, when this Government took the decision to cut back spending” (Channel 4 Fact Check).

The situation has been compounded by the incoherent and divisive response by Owen Paterson and Eric Pickles to the extent that David Cameron can’t trust his own ministers and is now charge to the response.

Dogma and disarray ... it seems to perfectly sum up this Government.

Richard Bridge, Holgate Road, York