If ‘money is no object’, Mr Cameron, where are our flood defences? | Tim Farron

Press releases about Cobra meetings mean nothing to northern communities who have been desperate for investment since the last time they were flooded

The recent floods have not only brought the effects of climate change to the fore - they have also ruined Christmas for many families. But the generosity of so many has shown that community spirit is alive and well throughout the north. I have seen at first hand people open their homes to strangers with nowhere else to go, and seen people who have lost much digging deep to help those who have lost everything.

The prime minister's "big society" is a woolly concept - a halfhearted attempt by David Cameron to contradict his political hero's assertion that "there is no such thing as society". But the tangible sense of community in the north of England as the floods have hit has struck many observers. In Cumbria (where I have lived for many years and am an MP), Lancashire (where I was born) and Yorkshire, there is something almost overwhelming about the level of mutual reliance, the selfless support for others, the resilience and cooperation and the strong community spirit.

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