And, as in many tragedies, the answer is usually that during the set of circumstances leading up to the event, the warnings were there for those responsible, able and willing to take effective action.

One of the more readily available indicators of how the UK economy is performing is the trend of average house pricesto average earnings ratio over time.

It appears desirable if the ratio can be kept within certain limits.

After all, a house purchase is the biggest expenditure we normally have to make and it's preferable for it to be reasonably affordable.

But did anyone in New Labour not track and think to check the ongoing boom cycle? Perhaps there was an election looming.

It really will not do for the British Government and financial authorities to claim credit for upturns in the economy without also
shouldering the blame when things get out of control.


Cooking up a storm over bad language

From: Margaret Claxton, Arden Court, Northallerton.

DENIS MacShane has said it all ("Who will stop this flood of obscenities on our TV screens?", Yorkshire Post, November 17). It was one of the best articles I have read on the misuse of the English language. Now that there is to be a downturn in employment, some of the
BBC heads of departments should be sacked to make way for some better tuned to what most of us want – decent (in all meanings of the word) English.

From: D Harrop, Malton Street, Sheffield.

WHATEVER the merits or de-merits of Jamie Oliver as a cook, he remains an illiterate abuser of the English language.

Would it not be a good idea to confine him to his kitchen, where he can be useful, rather than promote him as a public figure?


A green new deal can bring sustainable jobs

From: Dr Martin Hemingway, lead Yorkshire and the Humber Green Party candidate for the European Union elections in 2009, St Chad's Drive, Headingley, Leeds.

SO Yorkshire is to be hit hard during a deep recession according to the
Confederation of British Industry (Yorkshire Post November 17). We can't hide from it but a Green New Deal for Yorkshire and the Humber can bring sustainable jobs for the future.

The Green Party is calling on the Government and local authorities to invest in the development of renewable energy production and energy conservation.

In Kirklees, a council initiative led by Green Party councillors and funded by the energy companies is offering free home insulation to every household.

This is creating new jobs, helping people save on their fuel bills as winter approaches and reducing the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. We need more of this innovative thinking with practical applications, and we need it now.

The Green New Deal calls on the Government to do three things: regulate the banks, create new jobs in the growing "Green" sector and tax the energy companies' profits from rising energy prices.

Gordon Brown argued
against further regulation of the banks at the G20 meeting. Alistair Darling is talking about a New Deal, but has lost the Green component which will ensure that it is sufficiently effective to make a lasting difference. We must follow the lead of Barack Obama who has promised $150bn to create five million "green collar" jobs in the US.

We need quick and effective action in the region to reverse the effects of the financial crisis. The credit crunch was not caused by the negligence of the population of Yorkshire and the Humber and they should not be the ones to suffer.

They need jobs for the future not sticking plasters applied to a failed economic system.