Six days after Storm Arwen ravaged the north of England and Scotland, thousands of people remain without power. The tempest uprooted ancient woodlands and dumped unseasonably large amounts of snow on the Lake District, bringing down electricity lines that the suppliers have struggled to repair. For the residents of the areas affected, this was as great a calamity as the October storm that hit London and the South East in 1987, yet they may have cause to feel it is not being treated with quite the same urgency.

Boris Johnson has been notable in recent days as one of the few national politicians to refer to the privations being suffered by those in the 100mph storm’s path. Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, made no mention of it during Prime Minister’s Questions, preferring to ask about a pre-Christmas party held in No10 a year ago. It is hardly surprising that voters sometimes despair at the priorities of their elected representatives.

In the Commons, Kwasi Kwarteng made the first statement on the matter, calling it the biggest disruption to power for more than 15 years. Most homes have now been reconnected, with another 30,000 likely to be back on the grid within two days. But the storm has also exposed something else, which is the importance of being able to rely on power sources other than electricity, such as wood fires and gas. Those who would rapidly phase these out to meet CO2 reduction targets need to say what would replace them in such circumstances.

Expediting moves to zero carbon emissions may go down well in the Commons or at environmental summits, but will do little to help people feed and heat themselves when another storm comes hurtling towards them in future.