The newspapers are reporting that the Winter Olympics in Sochi have been something of a disaster. Apparently the building work was not completed in time for the opening, and lots of people have been inconvenienced as a result.
On the home front, the flooding misery continues, with the Somerset levels still among the worst hit areas. A lot of people are saying that the Environment Agency could and should have done more to minimise the impact of the floods. According to Wikipedia:
The Environment Agency is the principal flood risk management operating authority. It has the power (but not the legal obligation) to manage flood risk from designated main rivers and the sea.
One Tory MP has even gone so far as to make nasty remarks about the chairman of the Environment Agency, who as it happens is a former Labour MP and government minister who was installed as chairman in 2008 when Gordon Brown was Prime Minister.
It is fair to point out however that this country has had a Conservative Prime Minister for nearly four years now, and that the successes and failures of the Environment Agency are ultimately the responsibility of the Secretary of State for the Environment - who happens to be a Conservative politician by the name of Owen Paterson.
I don't suppose many of the people who are victims of the flooding in Somerset care that much about the Winter Olympics. It is easy to take an interest in sporting events when you are not trying desperately to keep foul water from seeping under your front door, but not everyone enjoys that luxury.
The people of Somerset will of course enjoy the luxury of being able to vote for the Conservative Party at the general election next year, but they might want to forego that particular pleasure.
Related previous post:
The politics of flooding
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