The Government has announced plans to convert the racing circuit Silverstone into a housing estate following news it is to be dropped from the 2005 Formula 1 calendar.

“We’ve been waiting for this opportunity for years,” Labour spokesperson Keith Wilson declared, “This is why we refused to step in and help the circuit meet the figure demanded by Bernie Ecclestone. With the Formula 1 event scrapped from Silverstone’s calendar it will drive them out of business and we will be able to buy the land for housing.”

Formula 1 fans have been outraged by the news claiming that although the government might have had to spend £2million bailing Silverstone out, the race generated far more money of that, which was pumped into the local and national economy.

“This is certainly true,” Keith Wilson explained, “However people are forgetting the ever increasing value of housing in this country. The several hundred acres we have acquired will generate hundreds of millions once we have built houses on it.”

Meanwhile, Labour’s Mayor of London Ken Livingstone reminded people that London could still host the Grand Prix, despite the organisational fiasco of the London street event hosted in July:

“London would make an excellent addition to the Formula 1 calendar. Although we obviously saddened to lose one of Formula 1’s most historic circuits, the houses being built there are also of great value to the country. Besides, it is very important to have extra housing in a remote rural village and bring one of the world’s busiest cities to a standstill by hosting the Grand Prix.”

Labour said they believed the loss of the British Grand Prix would not be harmful to the national economy, although Williams, McLaren, BAR, Jaguar and Jordan – with a combined budget of over £1billion – may be forced to relocate to a different race circuit as a result of Silverstone’s loss.