SIR – John Hall is correct (Letters, December 11) that the Labour party should have regulated the financial sector better before the crash of 2008. However, he does not balance this by mentioning certain other mitigating factors.

1) Labour was doing what it had done in government since 1997 – allowing the financial sector to make a lot of money with not too many questions asked, while banking the huge financial receipts and funnelling a lot of it towards the less-well-off.

2) The Conservative Party and the Liberal-Democrats never challenged this approach. In fact, there’s reason to believe all three parties were of a similar mindset back then.

3) There had not been a financial crash of this kind, probably since 1929, well out of the time-frame of today’s politicians. So the idea it would happen seemed beyond comprehension for many.

Now, many voters wish to see a different approach from at least one of the major parties, where all-out free-market capitalism, which has persisted since the time of Thatcher, makes way for the Government taking a greater role in running the economy to eliminate injustices.

But the big question is: “Will this be available from ANY of the major parties?”

David Hornsby, West View Avenue, Wrose