The political parties have gone suddenly quiet on flooding and compensation, says Andy Cook
It is two weeks since Tony Blair confirmed that the general election will take place on 5 May. So that means we are half way through the official campaign.
All the manifestos have been published and the key issues have been flagged up.
Bearing all this in mind, one thing worries me: the issues that we hold so dear and which seemed to be on the political agenda just a month ago have been overlooked.
We learned last week that local MPs have been lobbied about the flooding and the potential uninsurability of property. This has been ignored on the national agenda, where the issues of sustainable, affordable housing have been discussed. And there has been not a single reference to the fact that development on flood-prone land could lead to uninsurability and therefore unsaleable houses.
And what of the compensation culture? Stephen Byers, who co-wrote the Labour manifesto, admitted that Labour was keen to do battle against the compensation culture. And Tony Blair - just a few weeks ago - talked of how the management of risk can be improved in daily life.
The Conservative Party also talked of battling bogus claims.
So what has happened? Nothing.
What about the FSA? The Conservatives have talked openly of reducing the red tape around the FSA.
As for Labour, this is an extract from its manifesto: "We will take further action in Europe to ensure that EU regulations are proportionate and better designed."
A sentiment too late for our industry.
So with two weeks to go it looks like the Conservatives are offering a bit more to our industry than Labour, but there's not much in it. Let's just hope that we get more food for thought in the coming two weeks.
