Floodwaters do not wash away the sins of government. They tend instead to reveal and exploit every weakness. The catastrophic inundation of the Somerset Levels has been followed by the bursting of the banks of the Severn and the Thames. This has turned substantial areas into inland lakes and rendered thousands of inhabitants distraught and homeless, at least temporarily. Efforts by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet colleagues to be seen to be taking charge of the rescue and recovery operation are little more than distractions from the plain political fact: the Environment Agency, the public body charged with flood prevention, has been denuded of funds and shorn of personnel as part of the Government’s cuts in public spending. Meanwhile the real hard work in coping with the flood fa