Figures released last week showed that home repossessions in 2009 reached a 14-year high, with 46,000 households having their homes repossessed, writes Ludlow MP Philip Dunne.

While there was a small drop in the number in the last quarter, these figures paint a worrying picture, not least since over 250,000 further households were more than three months in arrears with their mortgage payments – almost 20 per cent higher than a year earlier.

The Government’s various mortgage support schemes are not working. Confusing initiatives like the Mortgage Rescue Scheme and Mortgage Homeowner Support Scheme have failed to offer real help to those in need.

It was astonishing to hear the Labour housing minister claim repossession is the best option for some people.

Losing your home is invariably heartbreaking.

Some who have part-bought their homes are also suffering from inflexibility by banks or housing associations being unable to sell their interests.

Tenants of homes owned by buy-to-let investors unable to keep up their payments are often innocent victims, too.

The first priority is to get Britain back on its feet.

Conservatives, if elected, would create a private sector recovery driven by business investment and exports.

Out of Brown’s borrowing boom we will build an enterprise society that saves for its future.