divert foreign aid to flood-hit British families

www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2556043/Sign-petition-calling-Government-divert-foreign-aid-flood-hit-British-families.html

NO! Far too simplistic, there is a lot of nonsense being talked about the weather/flood defences at the moment, both by some of the media and politicians. You certainly can't accuse them of being too cerebral quite the opposite in fact.

How can one newspaper print a story like this one and then print crap like that!

There is no comparison in the plights of well to do families who chose to buy properties on flood plains, and people living like this

And they are not called the Somerset LEVELS for nothing.

Oh yes. Go ahead and sign the petition. You all will.

No ninny I won't be signing.

If money can be found for wars and billions wasted on failed NHS computer systems, there should be no need to raid the Overseas Aid budget.

Nasty little campaign.

The concept is ridiculous. Why do people assume that the government, for all its faults (and they are legion) can just swap money from place to place? It is almost childish in its naïveté. It's not a household budget!

Certainly the government must get its house in order; certainly it must find money to restore people's lives and livelihoods, but not, even if it were possible, at the expense of others.

And, while I have the utmost sympathy for those in flooded areas, and agree that their needs are great, few of them thank goodness, are dying from water borne diseases, or are starving, or will die before that are in their forties etc. etc. there are emergency services and NGOs ready and able to help; there are medical services available. It is impossible to equate what, for us, is a disaster, with the many, many worse situations around the world.

I won't be signing either.

I was quite badly traumatised by the 1953 floods although I did not realise it until where I worked was flooded in 2000 in Lewes.
There will be many children uprooted by these events but I don't see any of the UK charities fund raising to help them.

Nobody is saying that those flooded shouldn't be helped - quite the opposite in fact - but to take the money from other folk whose life experiences none of us will experience or could imagine lessens us as human beings

We shouldn't have to rely on fundraising by charities for help - that's what we pay our taxes for.

Jingoistic nonsense, I won't be signing either!
I hasten to add that I do feel so sorry for the many people affected by floods wherever they live.

Nor me...
No matter how difficult things are for people in this country, - and I do
have deep sympathy for them, truly, it is a drop in the ocean (please excuse unintended pun!) when compared to the suffering of thousands of starving and homeless people around the world in places of conflict or climate problems.

Much sympathy for those affected by the floods, but they choose to live in these areas though, Little point in me complaining about snow when I choose to live on a Welsh mountain .

I most certainly will not sign

I won't sign. But. I do find it wrong that we give money to India who are financing space and nuclear technology.

I agree Galen, China also.

Good point Galen I agree with that, but think it's a diplomacy thing with some countries, more than needing aid.Britain still has enough money in the bank to help people in flooded areas, if the will is there.

This is a much more complex problem than shifting money from one pot to another, but that's not why I won't be signing. I fundamentally disagree with the 'either or' premise. The way in which the UK focuses aid money should certainly be examined, but the principle of giving aid to countries is sound.

You are right "rosesarered" it is indeed a political decision, money in = money back is the hope in these cases.

Me neither! What a daft idea!
We are a rich country, our losses to property come in as very expensive because we have so many expensive possessions.

Bang up the income tax to pay for more flood prevention.

You cannot blame anyone for this problem. The amount of rain falling in the last few months is unprecedented.

Think Bangaldesh! That very poor country is one big flood plain. It takes the water from the Ganges and the Brahmaputra in the Monsoons and the spring thaws from the Himalayas. In Bangladesh there is little high ground to escape to.
The frequent floods mean that lives and poor people's livelihoods are frequently destroyed. They die and homes are washed away completely.

They have frequent flood disasters, we occasionally have big inconveniences caused by property damage.

Loss of life in the UK to the current floods has largely been down to people ignoring advice not to venture into fast flowing flood water or seaside storm waves. We have been having severe weather warnings for weeks on end.

I do feel sorry for those people affected but a real disaster it is not.

We could also take a lesson from that blighted country. The Ganges of course starts in the Himalayas and decades ago India de-forested the foothills ensuring thereby that the water was not "stored" and gradually released but rushed on down without prevention thus ensuring major floods. Something we should take serious note of and consider whether reforesting our hills would help. Bet it would

No - I won't sign this.

There are contingency funds for these flood problems and the money should come out of that budget.

I am proud that GB donates to third world countries in trouble, but do also agree that the way this money is spent should be rigorously monitored and targeted.

I won't be signing either but I don't think it's fair to suggest that people should have more sense than to live on a flood plain. Settlements that have evolved over centuries had to learn how to deal with flooding. It didn't stop them from settling on rich, fertile, productive land close to irrigation. As our climate has been changing, modern developers should have had more sense than to continue to build on flood plains without improving flood defences or not build there at all. You can't dismiss the inhabitation of areas like Marlow as foolishness.

This is a huge wake up call for the government and the EA. We are an island and the water above and around us can't be controlled but there is no reason why it can't be better managed.

I won't be signing anything either -typical DM. However we vould listen to countries with experience of flood defences and land drainage such as the Netherlands instead of bleating "oh climate change - can't be helped". There have been offers of help and advce from either Holland or Belgium and quotes for drainage works and sluice maintenance coming in cheaper than the prophets of doom at the Environment Agency.

I can see how people feel about foreign aid and I don't think anybody would have an issue with any of it except that I and others do feel that a lot of aid gets 'lost'(?) in transit, and even when it gets to the country of intention, so often it goes straight into the wrong hands, whether it's food or money. After all these years it seems very sad and odd that there are still desperately poor people living in countries governed by an enormously rich elite; I think that speaks for itself and explains why people feel the way they do. As for people being rubbished for living near rivers, on the levels and fens, what a load of tripe that is - I can assure you that not everyone who lives near water is wealthy or is in anyway to blame for living where they do/work or the situation they find themselves in and are actually worthy of help too.

Thank you nigglynellie we live on a flood plain because that's all we could afford and it is regarded as the cheaper part of town. Having allowed the houses to be built the Councils should ensure the residents are safe. They are quick enough to take our council tax.