Tim Farron pays tribute to Cumbrian hospitality businesses for supporting communities during Storm Éowyn

On the floor of the House of Commons yesterday, Westmorland and Lonsdale MP Tim Farron paid tribute to local pubs who opened their doors to provide hot food and shelter for people who were left without power at the weekend following Storm Éowyn.

Speaking during a Ministerial Statement in Parliament, Tim said: “Back home, communities such as Patterdale, Flookburgh, Cark, Shap, Tebay, Crosby Ravensworth, Witherslack and Bouth saw many homes, businesses and community centres lose power. Like others, I am incredibly grateful to the engineers at Electricity North West and the wider community groups who have worked tirelessly to reconnect residents and support those without power. 

“I want to mention the Commodore Inn at Grange over Sands, the Kings Arms at Stainton, the Watermill at Ings and the Kings Head at Ravenstonedale, which provided shelter, food and drink to residents hit by the power cuts.”

Meanwhile, Tim also pressed for the Treasury to commit to longer term funding for flood defences, and to give more support for Cumbria’s farmers: “The Government’s failure at the recent Budget to guarantee funding for flood defences beyond this coming financial year is a cause of great anxiety for communities such as mine, who are often the first to be hit by extreme weather events. 

“It also strikes me as extraordinarily short-sighted. Will the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster demand that the Chancellor of the Exchequer puts this right, and quickly?”

“Farmers are our crucial ally in the fight to build more storm-resilient communities. Will the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster get the Treasury to ringfence funding, in addition to the environmental land management budget, to support farmers to protect our villages, towns and cities through natural flood management? Farmers are also major victims of these storms, with crops and livestock tragically lost and equipment destroyed.

“Will the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster ensure that resilience funding goes to the farmers who need it? Finally, will he meet the electricity companies to consider how they can improve the resilience of power lines?”

Responding, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Pat McFadden said: “I am grateful to the honourable gentleman for his questions, and I echo his thanks to those who have helped so many over the past few days. 

“He is right that these storms seem to be becoming more frequent. If he wants more money for flood defences, he of course must support the revenue raisers that go towards that money - I hope there will be consistency on that. 

“I also echo his thanks to farmers for their efforts in difficult times such as these. We know they can be very hard hit by the kind of weather we have seen over the weekend.”