An Article in a Local Paper had the headlines: “Fear over Home Sites” concerning abandoned housing development sites in Colne.

This crisis is the tip of a very large ice-berg. The credit crunch and the collapse of financial institutions and the housing market are leading to an inevitable recession and a possible global depression. As the International Monetary Fund says we are “on the brink of meltdown”.

Most people realise that the ship of titanic unsecured loans would eventually hit the massive ice-berg of personal and corporate debt with insufficient collateral capital, cash, to steer clear of disaster. To put it simply, we should not spend what we have not got; if we do, we will have to pay for it later; if we cannot pay back, we go bust. We should learn to live within our means.

Governments and Banks, etc, should have foreseen the impending crash. Both successive Conservative and Labour Governments are guilty of pandering to the unfettered Free Market and allowing ‘Big Business’ to gamble public and private money away. The rot started in 1987 when the Conservatives deregulated the market and this policy has been extended by New Labour – there is no point in blaming each. The mantra of political and financial experts was: “You cannot buck the market” and “It’s the market stupid”.

Now, it is the stupid market which will ruin the livelihood of individuals and have a have a detrimental effect politically, socially, economically and environmentally on the whole of society.

The Government has a moral responsibility not just to bail out Banks but also to guarantee 100% of customers’ savings and not just up to £50,000. Measures should be put in place to stop the misery of foreclosures, repossessions and bankruptcy by ensuring that people can continue to live in their own homes. If necessary, the Government, through the Local Authorities and Housing Associations, should take over the mortgages until such time as residents can resume payments. It should also assist Developers to complete their housing projects and be exempt from paying any tax on unsold finished properties. Further, the Government should continue to invest in Public Services [e.g. Transport] to create Employment and foster Regeneration and not cut back. It is in a time of Recession and Depression that we need investment in society to kick-start the economy.

Secure housing is a basic necessity for a stable society. It is wrong to treat homes as an investment opportunity to make profit. This approach had forced prices up beyond their real value and the reach of many people. To add insult to injury, the Housing Market Restructuring Programme has exacerbated the problem with their main flawed policy of demolishing homes and building new ones to boost the Housing Market and raise the cost of housing. In the light of what has happened, this policy is unsustainable. Resources should be redirected to renovating and providing affordable housing for sale or rent to buy.

The Government should not just try to blame the mess on the global market. The UK, along with the USA, is the one of the worst culprits in promoting profligate and perverse financial practices. Under, the principle that the polluter pays, then the top financial polluters with their toxic debts should pay the price with their jobs or, at least, pay back their bonuses and not be given anymore. The Government should also pay at the ballot box.

Yours truly David Penney Colne Columnist