Round the houses

Right now, however, history is less important for the people of

Yorkshire and Humber than the need for more affordable homes. A series of cuts, proposed by the coalition, will mean major changes in this region.

Hull and South Yorkshire are among the losers from a 50m cut in funding for housing market renewal programmes, while more than 8m, earmarked for councils countywide, to spend on building 129 new homes, is also in doubt

All this comes just days after David Cameron, the Prime Minister, promised not to "stand by" and let spending cuts damage Yorkshire's economy. No doubt the coalition Government is in a hugely difficult financial position, which is not of its own making, yet downgrading or cutting housing developments in this region is not the answer to Britain's budget crisis.

Many of the housing projects were planned for places that cannot be considered affluent, such as Bradford, Rotherham, Scunthorpe and Grimsby. They need investment, and the priority should be to work out how to make these happen while getting value for money for taxpayers.

Sadly, the prospect of such cuts reflects the financial climate in which we now live. If the Government is to make 6.2bn of savings this year, with more to come afterwards, then it has to wield the axe in brutal fashion. The scalpel, however, would be more appropriate for Yorkshire.