The right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe (Mr. Clarke) was right to identify a prime source of the crisis that so many economies are suffering as the banks and banking malpractices. As a Member for Edinburgh, which is of course a major banking centre, I am acutely aware not only of the role of the banks, but of the consequences on jobs, general lending and people's lives.
As a former Minister for construction, I welcome the proposals of my right hon. Friend the Chancellor to draw down spending and ensure that construction projects are started and continued. That will give some relief to what is clearly a hard-pressed sector of our economy.
I am afraid, however, that I cannot take lessons on housing policy from the right hon. Member for Hitchin and Harpenden (Mr. Lilley). He will remember that, under the regime of which he was a very strong part, 2.5 million houses were hit by negative equity, and that 76,000 were repossessed in 1991. Last year, the repossession total was 18,000, and the present estimate for this year is almost half the Conservative figure. That answers the right hon. Member directly.
The right hon. and learned Member for Rushcliffe was willing to face up to the source of the crisis. It may be unpalatable to his Front-Bench team, but he is wise enough to know that the crisis started in America, and is having a global impact—
Pre-Budget Report
Proceeding contribution from
Nigel Griffiths
(Labour)
in the House of Commons on Wednesday, 26 November 2008.
It occurred during Emergency debate on Pre-Budget Report.
Type
Proceeding contribution
Reference
483 c779-80 
Session
2007-08
Chamber / Committee
House of Commons chamber
Subjects
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Timestamp
2023-12-15 23:19:25 +0000
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