Lib Dem MP for Bath hits out at PM after rivers burst their banks across southern England

Boris Johnson has been criticised for not visiting flood-stricken communities at Christmas after it emerged he had no immediate plans to travel to areas hit by heavy rain.

Families may be forced to spend the festive period away from their homes after rivers burst their banks in Kent, Cornwall, Sussex and Norfolk. The Met Office has 54 flood warnings and 141 flood alerts in place across the UK, including in the north of England and the Midlands, with some likely to remain active until Christmas Eve as more rain is forecast.

Severe flooding in Yorkshire, Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire in November affected 4,200 homes, and the prime minister was heckled over the length of time it had taken him to visit when he arrived in South Yorkshire.

There are also no plans to hold an emergency meeting of government officials in the north after the Labour MP Dan Jarvis, who is also the mayor of the Sheffield city region, asked for one to take place immediately.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest Boris Johnson will spend Christmas Day with his girlfriend, Carrie Symonds, in Downing Street. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

The prime minister’s official spokesperson said: “We are working closely with the Environment Agency. The EA is monitoring the rainfall and river levels, and they have crews on the ground already operating defences. We will be keeping the closest possible eye on it.”

Johnson is spending Christmas Day with his girlfriend, Carrie Symonds, in Downing Street. He is not currently due to make any visits during the Christmas period to parts of the UK affected by flooding.

Many families were evacuated from their homes over the weekend due to rising floodwater, while main roads were blocked and businesses were unable to open.

Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, said: “With so many flood warnings in place across the UK, hundreds of families are facing the awful prospect of being forced out of their homes over the Christmas period.

“The fact that, once again, the prime minister isn’t even planning to visit flood-hit communities says it all. This is a man who is perfectly comfortable weathering the storm from the comfort of his own home, rather than confronting the grim reality that hundreds of people across the UK are having to deal with.

“The government needs to recognise that current flood protection is inadequate. It must invest in better flood defences to ensure these scenarios are not repeated time and again.”

The Prince of Wales visited Fishlake, South Yorkshire, on Monday to see the impact of the severe flooding in the village in November, after a month’s worth of rain fell in 24 hours. Charles met firefighters, police and soldiers on the outskirts before walking into the village to speak to families.

Clarence House confirmed he had made a donation through the Prince of Wales charitable foundation to Foundation Derbyshire’s flood relief fund and another to South Yorkshire’s Community Foundation.

Tom Tugendhat, the Conservative MP for Tonbridge and Malling in Kent, where the River Medway flooded over the weekend, said this was the second time in six years that families had been affected at Christmas.

But he said a visit from the prime minister was not what people in his community needed, recalling how David Cameron’s presence during floods in 2013 was received.

Facebook Twitter Pinterest David Cameron walks through Yalding, Kent, on a visit after flooding in 2013. Photograph: Ben Stansall/AFP/Getty Images

Tugendhat said he would instead be seeking an urgent meeting with Johnson and the floods minister, Rebecca Pow, as soon as parliament returned.

“Last time, David Cameron came and promised a number of different things, and nothing happened. I managed to get money promised for the Leigh flood barrier, but it’s a question of time. They can’t do the work except at certain right times or seasons,” he said.

“It’s far from being annual, but flooding at Christmas has happened before. At the moment there are any number of priorities for the prime minister, and the key thing now is for the Environment Agency to manage the flow and for Kent county council and borough and district councils to make sure the money is available for them. The prime minister visiting now won’t make the difference.”

He suggested ensuring the Flood Re scheme, which promotes affordable flooding insurance, was working and making sure the Environment Agency was investing across the country were the best ways to manage the floods.