UK NEWS

BROWN VOWS TO FIGHT OFF RECESSION

Gordon Brown has vowed to stave off a recession.

Wednesday March 19,2008

Comment Speech Bubble Have your say(24)

Gordon Brown has urged Britain not to lose faith in his Government in the face of a looming economic crisis.

The Prime Minister said 2008 was likely to be a tough year, but promised to try and avoid a recession as severe as the one that affected the country in the 1990s.

Amid signs of a sharp downturn in the US and a deepening credit crisis, Mr Brown admitted Britain was going through a "period of uncertainty" but said Labour had helped the economy through "tough times" in the past and would do so again.

He wrote: "Our task is to steer a course of stability in uncertain times. When a major bank in America has to be rescued over a weekend and billions are wiped off share markets across the world, I understand that people are worried about the future."

His comments come as stock markets look set for another volatile day after the rate cut of 0.75% by the US Federal Reserve.

The rate cut prompted the American Dow Jones Industrial Index to register its biggest one-day gain in five years, rising 420 points to 12,392.66.

The Asian markets opened sharply higher on Wednesday. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 index jumped 2.8% to 12,292.73 at the end of the morning trading session, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng index surged nearly 3%.

British investors will be hoping the FTSE 100 index in London, which closed 3.5% up on Tuesday, will follow the positive trend. The gains made on the FTSE 100 saw the top flight index recover the bulk of the losses seen earlier in the week, when it fell by almost 4%, slumping to its lowest level for more than two years.

The Prime Minister mentioned the high interest rates and inflation of the 1990s, the Asian financial crisis of 1997 and the dot.com crash in 2000, but said the stability of the British economy would lessen the impact of an economic downturn.

High levels of home ownership, low national debt, and relatively low inflation would all help to cushion the blow of the latest period of uncertainty, he said.

THE GUTLESS, SELFISH, USELESS, IMPOTENT PM

20.03.08, 9:11pm

FACT

WE REST OUR CASE

• Posted by: LucianDeville • Report Comment

BROWN

20.03.08, 9:16am

dithering brown the unelected primeminister is now facing the penalty of years of mismanagement ,he is running out of ideas how to fill this big black hole he has created ,the country is facing crisis ,he has put many on the brink of collapse ,and he has the cheek to say dont loose faith ,ive heard it all now .call an election now.

• Posted by: crazyhorse • Report Comment

HAVE FAITH IN BROWN AND HIS GOVERNMENT?

19.03.08, 9:45pm

Wiil someone pleae remind me which incompetent,tax raising A******* got this country into this bloody mess in the first place......Oh yes it was Gordon "now you see you're pension,jobs,futures,homes,savings,taxes now you dont" Brown!!!!!.

Is there no end to this idiots arrogance!!!!!

• Posted by: jonG • Report Comment

US LOOSE FAITH?

19.03.08, 6:47pm

Bit bloody late in the day to come out with that statement. Who does this moron Mc Doom think caused this country to go down the pan? This country is so much in dept, that it will take years for any successive governments to clear, no matter who they are. Us Britons (even the Scotts hate him) have been let down from the moment Nu Labour got into power, but for some reason, so many couldn't see this, WHY? I could see it and I'm no clever sod. Oh why oh why did people keep voting these morons back in?

• Posted by: snaredrum • Report Comment

YOU ARE JOKING

19.03.08, 6:16pm

How can anyone have faith in such a dictorial bunch of uncaring, freeloading vacuous scumbags like we have in this government.
We a the public who elected them are suffering severe financial hardship. If we want a kitchen or a second home we have to pay for it out of our earnings. We can't put in receipts and expect Joe public to pay for it for us. This crowds actions are tantamount to theft. They are corrupt. They epitomise evil and should be de-selected.
Its time we stopped sitting on our backsides expecting our neighbours to do the right thing.
Contact your MP's and complain. email them and complain. write to number ten and complain. Let us bombard this lunatic mob with complaints and let them know how we feel. DO NOT LEAVE IT TO OTHERS> DO IT NOW. I have already sent 30 emails of the same to mine.

• Posted by: fredj • Report Comment

BOTTLER BROWN IS INCAPABLE OF FIGHTING OFF ANYTHING

19.03.08, 2:14pm

Brown is an arrogant, dictatorial control freak and due to his fiscal incompetence is the grand architect of this once proud nations destruction.
Many of us are fast approaching a point where there is no incentive to work anymore. Tax, tax and more tax is his only answer.
I pray for the day when he and his cronies are held accountable and locked up for good.

• Posted by: BradUK • Report Comment