Is this the indicator that Labour Party leader Gordon Brown should focus on when he has sorted out global financial system regulation?
Brick stockpiles were reported in this morning's Guardian at 1.2 billion in the yards of three major manufacturers - enough to build a city the size of Nottingham - population: 278,000
In an interview from Brussels, where EU heads of state are meeting, Gordon mentioned further measures to boost home insulation to help reduce energy bills, and create jobs. I'm not an expert in the employment outcomes. But my hunch is that a substantial home building programme, and nothing less, is critical to dragging the UK economy out of the jaws of recession.