Welsh Labour send Chancellor letter asking for relief citing "Belief in the Union".

Without doubt nearly all our elected representatives have responded well to the recent floods in Wales and Rhondda  Labour MP and Plaid AM deserve a mention and a special mention should be made of Plaid Councillor for Pontypridd Helyd Fychan who use of social media has been exemplary in keeping people up to date,

Indeed perhaps the main criticism is that there should be a little more joint cooperation between the parties representation and an examination of the effectiveness of our flood prevention measure, our response in what we can do in the future.

So whilst I agree with the calling on  on the new UK chancellor to deliver flood relief cash to some of the worst affected parts of Wales it would have been better if it was not so partisan and other parties should be invited to sign it. 

After all we should be looking at the response from local authorities and the Welsh Assembly/Senedd.

In a letter to Rishi Sunak, they ask for a one-off grant of £30m to pay for repair and restoration work across Rhondda Cynon Taff.
They also want council tax and business rates suspended for a year in affected properties.
They accepted some matters are devolved - but want action at a UK level.
"Our belief in the Union leads us to conclude that when any part of the United Kingdom is hit particularly hard, the whole of the UK should help out, regardless of the normal funding rules," they have written in the letter to the Treasury.

It may be that this was why it was only Labour elected officials   have signed  the letter "Belief in the Union" , indeed such a statement  of loyalty has a hint of  asking for relief from the colonial government

"We therefore urge you as a matter of urgency to provide specific one-off funding for RCT (Rhondda Cynon Taff)."
The letter has been signed by the MPs Chris Elmore (Ogmore), Chris Bryant (Rhondda), Beth Winter (Cynon Valley), and Alex Davies-Jones (Pontypridd).
The AMs Mick Antoniw (Pontypridd), Vikki Howells (Cynon Valley), and Huw Irranca-Davies (Ogmore), have added their names to the request.
The leader of Rhondda Cynon Taf (RCT) council, Andrew Morgan, has also signed the letter.
Writing to Mr Sunak, who replaced Sajid Javid at No 11 Downing Street earlier this month, they argued that damage to roads, bridges and council property will cost the local authority up to £30m.
They added: "That will swamp the council's total annual general capital funding allocation of £13.4m. The damage to private properties across the county is likely to run to nearly £150m pounds."
"We are a resilient community, many hundreds of people have mucked in and helped out. We are generous too. Charitable donations have nearly reached £200,000.
"But, however generous we are individually, we do not have deep pockets."
In addition to calls for additional cash, the Labour politicians have also asked for some rules on benefit payments to be suspended.

 In addition to calls for additional cash, the Labour politicians have also asked for some rules on benefit payments to be suspended."It would be manifestly unfair for families to receive £500 from RCT council or from a Crowd Fund Me page, only to have that money clawed back," they said

 Finally, they have called on the UK government to fund an urgent review across all south Wales coalfield communities, to address concerns over landslides following weeks of rain.Coaltips remain the responsibility of the Coal Authority, local councils and Natural Resources Wales.
Speaking to BBC Wales, the Rhondda MP Chris Bryant added: "Wales has borne the brunt of the misery and RCT in particular has been hardest hit.
"Without extra help, RCT could be wiped out financially as we rebuild bridges, roads and flood defences."
A Welsh Government spokesperson said it had been "working around the clock with partner agencies to keep people safe and informed" since the storms and resulting floods.
"We have made available £10m to deal with the immediate impact of the storms," they added.
"This funding is being made available for the initial response, while work to assess the overall impact and cost of the damage continues. This will determine what further financial support is needed and, depending on the scale of those costs, we would look to the UK government to provide resources."
They said the First Minister Mark Drakeford would be meeting the Welsh Secretary Simon Hart next week to discuss the safety of coal tips and the communities in their shadows.
A UK government official said it had been communicating with emergency services, councils and the Welsh Government over flooding.
They added: "Whilst flood defences and the response to flooding in Wales are devolved, we will continue to engage with and support the Welsh Government on flood relief and coal tip safety."

There is also more than a little hint in this letter of  Labour trying to divert criticism of any response from the Welsh Lab-our Government and local authorities .

Yes Westminster has a duty to respond, but Labour must look at it's own record in very much the same way despite the fact that NHS Wales is the responsibility of the Labour-controlled Welsh Government, and Labour AM Vaughan Gething is the current Health Minister.  Labour Party in Wales especially valley MPs and AMs behave as if the "Welsh Government" have clean hands over on the campaign to stop plans to end A  E at the Royal Glamorgan Hospital”.

As i said Labour's elected politician deserve praise for their response to the recent flooding as have Plaid and other politicians have.

But they need to stop making it a party issue and imake it one on how Wales is governed