Politicians are pushing for better deals to help Cumbria’s fightback from the floods.

They are piling pressure on the Government to give the county more cash both to protect itself and forge its future.

Top-level talks are taking place on various fronts, a year on from the devastation of Storm Desmond that caused hundreds of millions of pounds-worth of damage.

Cumbrian MP Tim Farron has accused the Government of overlooking the north of England on the back of reports that claimed some other areas of the country benefited from more money on flood spending, per head of population.

The Liberal Democrat leader said: “Many places in the north-west, particularly here in Cumbria, were among the worst hit by the floods last winter but the Government was more interested in offering warm words than hard cash.

“These figures show that there is still a significant way to go until the north-west benefits from the same level of flood spending as areas such as the east of England or the south-east.

“There is an urgent need for major investment in flood defences, as well as other resilience works.”

Workington’s Labour MP Sue Hayman is the shadow floods minister and has been holding talks in an attempt to get more cash for the county.

She has also been pushing for better deals on the likes of transport, to help build for the future.

“I had a meeting with the floods minister [Therese Coffey] and we discussed the funding that the Local Enterprise Partnership had got,” Mrs Hayman said.

“I asked why communities weren’t being given a similar deal to the LEP and why less funding was being given to the north. The answer I was given was that at the moment, funding is given by head population.

“We in Cumbria can’t compete with head population.

“She said that they were looking to protect homes but I said if you’re prepared to spend x amount then you’re creating a benefit for a lot of people.

“I’ve got a meeting with local farmers soon to hear their argument. They aren’t being considered in this.”

Mrs Hayman agrees that the north-west is getting an unfair deal but not just on floods funds,

“It’s to do with transport as well,” she added. “I asked Therese Coffey to visit Cockermouth to see for herself but she declined and said she’d already been to Cumbria, so we had the meeting instead.

“I’ve got a meeting with John Stevenson in Carlisle so I can understand the situation there a bit better.

“It’s an issue that’s important to local people, so although I’m here to push the Government, Cumbrian MPs will be working together to get the best deal.”

Ms Coffey has said the Government is committed to protecting people form flooding.

An Environment Agency spokeswoman said: “Across Cumbria and Lancashire, we’re investing £193 million of Government funding to better protect over 35,000 homes. We’re going to invest up to £25m in new flood management schemes for Carlisle.”