The leading article from "The Times" today has already been quoted in this Debate, and I will quote only another sentence:The housing programme is now patently threatened by a Crisis in Costs, and the most disturbing feature of the crisis is the apparent complacence of Government, employers, and building union leaders alike.

Above all, it is a Crisis of Costs, and the purpose of the Government's policy is to reach the source of inflation.

Cost Crisis

There is a general Crisis in the Cost of living.

We started to campaign on this issue because we could see that toxic mix in Britain of a Crisis in the Cost of living, of families struggling, having lost jobs or facing wage freezes in Britain and, indeed, of the lax regulation in the UK of the cost of credit.

My Lords, in view of the Crisis in the Cost of government, would my noble friend consider getting together a group of senior retailers who would be asked to look at manifestos before an election, price up the promises and make sure that we know the unit price of government as proposed between the various parties?

Will the Leader of the House make time for a debate on the Government's response to the Crisis in the Cost of living before the Chancellor hits poor and vulnerable people with even deeper cuts?

Add to that spiralling energy bills, sky-high rents and the increasing cost of the weekly shop, it is no wonder that Londoners feel that they are experiencing a Crisis in Their Cost of living.

We need strategically planned bus services that help all our communities, and bus fares that are sensitive to the Crisis in the Cost of living under the current Government.

When, as we are often told, we are suffering from a Crisis in the Cost of living, the fact that the Chancellor cut beer duty and therefore delivered lower beer prices so that hard-working men and women could enjoy one of life's simple pleasures, is important.