sHave you noticed the real problem with our economy? Centralisation and too much power in the mitts of inexperienced and selfish individuals.

This explains why Parliament acts like a time capsule drifting in space as the country is pulled toward a financial black hole.

On board this UK Lack of Enterprise: “Dar...ling, we need more fiscal stimulation,” splutters Flash-Spending Gordon, self-proclaimed saviour of the universal banking system.

“Scotty” Darling bellows from the bowels of the Treasury: “She cannae take much more of this, cap’n.”

Meanwhile, would-be saviour of the Tory party and all-round good-toff-but- ordinary-bloke, “call me Dave” Cameron, dematerialises in the Tardis (acronym for: Thatcher And Rightwing Drift In Space). Ordinary bloke Dave is the “Dr Who – are we?”, to Flash-Spending Gordon’s “where are we?”.

As the economy approaches the recession’s event horizon, Dave announces... a one-year freeze in the colour TV licence. Ordinary bloke Dave has it in for good old Aunty Beeb, just like Margaret Thatcher, so incensed by TV trade unionists and the “liberal attitudes” at the Beeb she decided to sort them all out. Result... less choice and ITV in debt of £2.7 billion under Michael Grade, who incidentally scrapped Dr Who while at the Beeb.

Looks like the unions were not to blame after all, Mrs Thatcher.

Rumour has it that New Labour MPs are hoping to be beamed up with nice little pension pots, just as the economy spirals down the plughole. Those not exterminated at the general election, managing to “cling on”, will possibly inhabit a parallel universe of a hung Parliament. Why not regional parliaments of job-sharing MPs incorporating modern, remote procedures, utilising local business to operate councils?

And how about experienced businessman and former Beeb boss, Greg Dyke, as Independent MP for York?

T Scaife, Manor Drive, York.

• The headlines for a month or two have told us that the world’s money markets have “mislaid” X billions of pounds, dollars, yen, etc. It doesn’t sound much when written like that, but how much is it?

I’ve tried to find out by using a book that helps with crosswords. This book has 1,209 pages and contains 750,000 words. When you flick the pages over all those rows of words you realise how many 750,000 is.

In order to get a billion you would need 1,300 of these books, but then you have to multiply that by X (ten, 20, 100, 200?). This is an astronomical amount of money. Where has all the money gone? Have they shovelled it into the furnace to keep the central heating going? Has Scottie beamed it up to another planet from the starship Enterprise? I think us taxpayers should be told.

Frank Willerton, Jorvik Close, Acomb, York.

• I listened with horror to David Cameron’s recent speech on the economic crisis. Rather than putting the responsibility where it belongs, on the bankers who destroyed their companies and walked away with huge pensions, or the City who created the sub-prime mess, he incredibly appeared to blame instead the disabled and single mothers, i.e. people who are on benefit.

He also blamed personal debt, as if your second-hand car bought on HP caused the banks to seize up. If this is the Conservative take on the mess, it is to be hoped they never get elected.

What is causing companies to fail is lack of credit, as well as lack of business as the housing market has stalled.

It is vital to get first-time buyers back in action, many of whom cannot afford the large deposits now being asked for.

If the Government is underwriting or guaranteeing loans then it seems logical that deposits do not require to be at 15 per cent levels but could be much smaller.

Deposits need to be at about the three per cent level or lower, to help those starting out with new jobs and new families get a place of their own.

This would be by far the most accurate and effective way of kick-starting the economy.

There are many people who want to buy out there; price is not the issue, but lending is.

As for the car industry, it flooded the market with luxury gas-guzzling cars in the good times, and never developed the clean “green” machines we will need in the frugal future, so it is hard to feel sympathy.

Chris Clayton, Hempland Drive, York.