11/02/2014 The Papers

of their scores was the biggest in Olympics history. Chelsea also

played at West Bromwich Albion, and I will have the results.

Hello and welcome to our look ahead to what the papers will be bringing

us tomorrow. With me are Pippa Crerar of the London Evening

Standard newspaper, and comedian and writer David Schneider. Let's have a

look at some of tomorrow morning's front pages. The Independent is

leading with all of the floods. A picture that of the swollen River

Thames in Surrey, and the Prime Minister's warning that the

situation is likely to get worse before it gets better. The Financial

Times features news that Barclays is to cut hundreds of jobs in the UK,

saying the Chief Executive is on the back foot after deciding to boost

bonuses. The Daily Telegraph leads with David Cameron's pledged to

spend whatever is necessary on rebuilding affected areas. That is

also the top story on the front page of The Metro. The Guardian is

focused on the flood funding pledge their too, and the Mail's front-page

is focusing on its own proposal to divert money from foreign aid to

flood victims in the UK. We are going to start with the flooding -

the story of the decade! The Independent. Britain's water

torture. No matter how much money you throw at this, if the water

doesn't go away, it will be a nightmare. It could be another few

months. We have already had the wettest January since records

began. It doesn't bode very well for springtime for most of us,

especially for those living close to the Thames. The Independent is

warning that the Severn and the River Wye are the latest rivers that

the Environment Agency are keeping an eye on, because the levels are

rising. Hundreds of people have been evacuated in the last few days, and

we could see many, many more in the next few months. The picture in the

Independent is striking. It looks like a lake, where the Thames used

to weave through Shepperton and Surrey. It is very interesting. We

have had days and days of the floods of leading the newspapers. Normally

you get to the point where story fatigue takes over, and they feel

the need to break into something else, but if we have months of these

stories coming up, how can we ignore it? A cynic might say that Cameron

has now said, let's stop the blame game, mainly because he was starting

to get the blame. He has just started to come out and do

something. Cynics would say that it is just because we are seeing

pictures of Shepperton in Surrey, the home counties that are

vulnerable. But if that is your house, it is a terrifying prospect.

A lot of these communities have been inundated with water today, but also

MPs! Flooded! They have had to put out sandbags to keep out Miliband!

It has been terrifying. It has been a very difficult balancing act,

especially for David Cameron. The last few days, I felt he has been

trying to make politicians about it. He has said that the lack of

dredging is was not his cuts, it was about something else. But

politicians are out there getting heckled. They are almost like

punchbag. They are taking the abuse. And there is infighting

within his own party. I was struck today by some of the TV footage of

individuals who had been affected, saying, we don't care about the

politics of this. I don't care about Eric Pickles and Owen Paterson. What

I care about is the fact that the help is not going through now, and I

need it. That is why Cameron is trying to rise above it, and saying,

all that matters is sorting out the situation. In the Telegraph, Mr

Cameron says money is no object. If it takes a lot of money, he is

willing to spend it. It is interesting that suddenly we have a

lot of money! I think it is indicative of the short-term view of

this government. They have cut and cut and cut, and that is all great,

until something like this happens. There was limits on what the

Environment Agency could spend. That was because we had austerity. But

suddenly, you are faced with a real disaster, and it is a false economy.

You have to put out more than you would have done if you had prepared.

There is definitely the argument that why didn't you pay for it in

the first place, if money is no object? I interpret this as a

response to UKIP and Nigel Farage, who is calling for some of the

foreign aid budget to be diverted to help people in the UK. Does this

shoot the Mail down? I think it is attempting to. We are a wealthy

country. Austerity or not, we can afford to build flood defences and

help out local businesses, and even householders who haven't insured who

are going to get some hope. We will see about that, because they have

been sucked right, the hardship funds, over recent years. They are

claiming that the money is there and they don't need to get into the

foreign aid budget. I think a lot of the comparison between the floods

we've seen in Bangladesh, where tens of thousands of people die, lose

their homes and livelihoods, and awful though these floods are in

Somerset and the Thames Valley, it is just on a different scale. I

think most people can recognise that. Onto the front page of the

Guardian. PM's high-stakes flood plains. The army marches in.

Apparently, they forgot their wellies as well! It is a high-stakes

pledge because he is saying money is no object. Where does that stop?

There is a problem that no amount of money can stop the floods, but then

again, that's why it is all very well pledging this and dealing with

UKIP and the Daily Mail, and dealing with the politics of having to tell

people, I'm here, I'm your Prime Minister, but it is indicative of

the lack of planning of this government, and the fact they have

not addressed by Mitch H. That is the planning we should be looking

at. He dodged the opportunity to discuss climate change, because he

has an Environment Secretary who is in climate change denial. I think

there is the wider issue, not just the knee jerk response. Should he

have said, what ever money is needed, it will be there? Rather

than a blank cheque? Has he just chosen the wrong words to sell this

response? Possibly, but I think he is probably wary because of his

reaction to the floods in 2007, when he was in rue Wanda with his Shadow

Cabinet, and his constituency was deluged with water and he didn't

come back. He got a real battering over that. Compared with Gordon

Brown, who was prime minister at that point. I think it was days or

weeks after he took over as prime minister, and his response to the

floods crisis at that point, and making money available, was seen as

being one of the things that bolstered his leadership. He

advanced in the polls, but Cameron will be remembering what happens if

you don't be seen to lead from the front. The consensus is among many

people and within the government that they have not got on top of

this soon enough. But that is his style. It is almost back to the

wall. Let's not tackle the crisis until you absolutely have to. But

when it reaches a crisis point and he realises he has to act, he throws

everything at it. And then he appears the elder statesman and

looks calm and collected and runs this new Cabinet committee. Money is

no object. Whether the readers, voters and people affected by the

floods see it the same way or whether they think he should have

acted sooner... I wonder what the people of Somerset feel about this

new, macho COBRA man who is coming and sorting it out. They have been

suffering for five or six weeks. It is all very well as saying that he

has kicked into gear in the last few days. This did not make the papers

initially. It has only been in the last week or two at the Somerset

Levels flooding has been on the front pages. It was not in the lead

story on the BBC. It is not just the politicians who have been slow to

catch up. But it is their job to keep on top of things. You could

argue that the Somerset Levels floods every year. I mean, it does.

It is just a question of scale. It is the continuing effects of all

these storms blowing in from the Atlantic. The Metro says, message

from 10 Downing Street. Apparently, there was a shark in these waters. I

wonder if there is a connection between the Metro's ability to come

up with a pun everyday. When they have run out of ponds, we will see

the floodwaters recede, I suspect! Finally, let's get on to the

Financial Times. Barclays chief on back foot over bonuses and job cuts.

They are cutting a lot of jobs at Barclays, and yet the bonuses have

gone up. It is wearying a familiar. The number of times we have sat here

and discussed banks paying out huge bonuses. I think there bonus pot was

2.3 billion. And that is up since last year. As you say, 12,000 jobs

are being cut at the same time. And the profits they are paying out to

shareholders are down as well. It has just brought back the whole

question of bonuses and whether individuals should be rewarded for

success or failure. Clearly, money is no object here either? Isn't that

the weird thing? I think Antony Jenkins, the Barclays chief

executive, is the man probably desperately doing a rain dance at

the moment. This would be a big splash in the papers if it were not

for all the flooding. No pun intended with the splash. I think he

is pleased about that. But it is wearying Lee familiar. When you

think about the sum involved and how that could help with the flood

efforts... That is a good idea. He has a reputation as St Anthony, so

here is a chance for him to keep his halo. You will both be back in an

hour to look at more headlines on the front pages. Stay with us for

that. At the top of the hour at 11, much more on the flooding problems

around the country. Now, time for Sportsday.

Hello, this is Sportsday. Here is what is coming