Is Vince Cable right about his assertion that the economy is in freefall in the UK ?

Question

Vince Cable, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesman, said: “Charles Bean’s comments highlight the fact that the British economy is to a large extent in freefall and there’s not a great deal the Government or the Bank of England can do about it.

“Ministers need to focus their efforts on protecting those at greatest risk. That means greater support for people living under the threat of having their homes repossessed and helping the large number of vulnerable people who will be hit with huge energy bills this winter.”

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article4608196.ece

Answer 1

No, he is not.

We, along with much of the world, are facing (comparatively) difficult times.

But we are still exceedingly wealthy by world terms.

He is a politician.   Part of the job to knock the government

Answer 2

yes it is.  Those not so prudent people   who borrowed up to their eyebrows,  and lived extravagantly    will have it all coming  home to them now...   Ok lot of talk about  cost of fuels,  ..  yes some needy people will need assistance ,  job to  say what is the best way...   The proposed windfall taxes not a good idea,  Ok  the firms make big profits  , but to make them finance  some sort of rebate scheme  will reduce profits  but also investments too.  Who is going to invest millions in new green power stations  if there is not a substantial return at the end of the day..So if you surcharge  or windfall tax now as a short term measure,  you will have it all come home to roost in 15 to 20  years when there is not sufficient power capacity available..  Best way is to    stop all overseas aid  ,  Stop wars,  Use the money here in UK  for the benefit of UK ,  

Answer 3

The British economy is not in free-fall, but it is heading that way, if urgent action is not taken soon the UK will slump into a recession that could quite easily turn into a depression similar to the 1930s.

All the signs are there not only in this country but also around the Western World.

In the UK there is huge personal debt, rising food and utility bills with more and more people unable to pay their mortgages, banks unwilling or unable to lend.

This at a time when the UK decides that it wants to host the 2012 Olympics in London, madness utter madness.

If I knew that bad times were ahead the last thing that I would be doing is to spend what little resources I have, on vast and expensive projects that will have little or no benefit to the ordinary tax payer, who in the end will be forced to pay for them, again madness utter madness.

Gordon Brown by not agreeing to a windfall tax on the energy company's is not only out of touch with the rest of the country, he is also out of touch with the rest of the so called Labour party (turncoats, poor Tories in disguise).

Answer 4

I think so....the man always seems to talk sense.   Brown of course, set up the FSA to self regulate the banks.....Is Brown simply working for the Bildeberg group???

Answer 5

Yes!A lot of his predictions have proved to be true!

Answer 6

You've had 13 years of really good growth and now you have a periodic contraction.

The politicians think you've forgotten that people DO survive a recession, so they're using scary talk to stampede you one way or the other.

Relax.  Things are going to get tight for a while, but you'll make it.

Answer 7

Yes, but insiders have been aware of this since at least last August.

It all has its roots in the Bank of International Settlements' ( "the Central bank of Central banks", based in Basel, Switzerland)  "New Capital Accord" from the mid 90s which effectively  dismantled the restraints placed on the bankers over the past decades  from overlending and then going on a asset seizure following an induced collapse.  This has been the greatest global collapse since  the 1920s. They've been playing it down until now

Answer 8

its not looking good for us.  if those of us that work start to lose our jobs, who's going to pay for all the benefit scroungers and the olympics?  public services will suffer as money is redirected to the social fund.   I'm just grateful my job is not reliant on the uk economy.  ministers aren't interested in helping us out, they could do it so easily, but instead they are only interested in keeping themselves in their cushy little jobs spending our money on their second homes.