Sir Keir Starmer says Labour would ‘get ahead’ of torrential weather - as five killed by Storm Isha
22 January 2024, 16:10 | Updated: 22 January 2024, 16:19
A Labour Government would "get ahead" of torrential storms, Sir Keir Starmer has said, as he accused the Conservatives of implementing a "sticking plaster" approach over Storm Isha.
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The Labour leader said he was concerned for those whose homes have been severely damaged or flooded, and do not have sufficient insurance to cover the costs of repair.
In a speech at the Civil Society Summit on Monday morning, Starmer said the overnight storms and floods are an "example of sticking plaster politics in many ways”.
“We’ve got to stop going out after the storm to try to help people rebuild their lives, we’ve got to get ahead of the storm and put the resilience in place first," he added.
“So working with you not just on the response to storms or flooding or whatever it may be but on the resilience to stop that in the first place or mitigate that is hugely important.
"So there’s a strong preventative theme through everything that we want to do.”
It comes after Storm Isha claimed at least five lives as it battered parts of the country overnight, bringing with it winds of up to 99mph. Around 70,000 people remained without power and transport services remained disrupted throughout the country.
In Bradford, a man died in a fall down a manhole when safety barriers were destroyed in high winds. The victim suffered a fatal head injury after falling into the exposed hole.
Emergency services were called to Highgate Road, Bradford, but the man was pronounced dead at the scene.
A West Yorkshire Police spokeswoman said: "At 7.19 this morning officers were called by the ambulance service to reports of a concern for safety at Highgate Road, Queensbury.
"A man was pronounced dead at the scene.
"The man’s death is not being treated as suspicious and a file will be prepared for the coroner in due course."
A man in his 60s died last night in Northern Ireland when his van hit a tree, an 84-year-old man died after the car he was a front seat passenger in crashed into a fallen tree in Grangemouth, Falkirk, and two others died in other crashes in Ireland.
A woman in her 20s died after a van she was a passenger in crashed into a tree and a man in his 40s died in a car crash in Co Mayo.
The Met Office today issued fresh 'danger to life' warnings after Storm Isha battered the UK and Ireland with winds up to 99mph.
As the clean-up following Storm Isha is still underway, @MetEireann has named #StormJocelyn that will bring strong winds and rain to Northern Ireland and much of Britain.
— Met Office (@metoffice) January 22, 2024
Find out more in our latest news release 👇
Read More: Storm Isha claims first victim after man, 84, killed as car crashes into fallen tree
Ireland's Meteorological Service has now named a new oncoming tempest as Storm Jocelyn, which is expected to cause strong winds from Tuesday night into Wednesday morning.
The UK Met Office issued an amber warning for wind covering western and northern Scotland from 6pm on Tuesday until 8am on Wednesday.
Less serious yellow warnings are also issued for wind across much of the UK, north of Oxford, and Peterborough, and for rain in an area of western Scotland stretching from the border with England to near Inverness.
Transport was also thrown into chaos as fallen trees affected railways and roads. Traffic Scotland reported stretches of the M9 and M74 among the roads closed, while the A1 southbound was blocked at Thorntonloch because of an overturned lorry.
High winds forced the closure of the Tay Road Bridge, M48 Severn Bridge and the A66 in Durham and Cumbria between the A1(M) and the M6, while the Humber Bridge, A19 Tees Flyover and A628 Woodhead Pass in Derbyshire were among stretches closed to high-sided vehicles.
Fallen trees and flooding caused ScotRail to suspend all services from 7pm on Sunday until around 11am when some lines reopened.
A Network Rail spokesman said "hundreds of engineers" were deployed with chainsaws and cherry pickers to remove debris from tracks.
"It's been a wild night, but passengers and railway staff have been kept safe and we will work tirelessly to get the railway back on its feet as quickly as we can," he said.
Most routes in England and Wales were open on Monday but with some residual delays.
Air traffic control restrictions on Sunday night led to flight cancellations and caused many planes to divert. Ryanair flights to Dublin from Manchester and Lanzarote in the Canary Islands diverted to the French cities of Paris and Bordeaux respectively.
The Met Office said the highest recorded wind speed during Storm Isha was 99mph at Brizlee Wood in Northumberland, with gusts of 90mph at Capel Curig in Snowdonia on Sunday.
A rare red warning for wind in north-east Scotland was in place until 5am on Monday, with amber warnings covering much of the UK until 6am and further yellow warnings covering the entire country until noon.
A further yellow warning for wind for Scotland, Northern Ireland, north Wales and northern England is active from 4pm on Tuesday until noon on Wednesday.
The Met Office said "everybody" was affected by the storm. Heavy downpours battered some places, with 28 flood warnings in place in England and 50 in Scotland.
The Police Service of Northern Ireland said the weather put "significant pressure" on the 999 system and urged people to report non-emergencies online or by calling 101.
Chief Superintendent Davy Beck said many roads across Northern Ireland were impassable on Monday morning.
The Met Office said Storm Isha - the ninth named storm to hit the UK since the season began in September - is moving away from the UK on Monday but conditions remained windy with a mixture of sunny spells and scattered showers.
Showers were expected to be heaviest and most frequent in the north and west.
