Economy at 60-year low, says Darling. And it will get worse

[T_i_B]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/aug/30/economy.alistairdarling

Britain is facing "arguably the worst" economic downturn in 60 years which will be "more profound and long-lasting" than people had expected, Alistair Darling, the chancellor, tells the Guardian today.

In the government's gravest assessment of the economy, which follows a warning from a Bank of England policymaker that 2 million people could be out of work by Christmas, Darling admits he had no idea how serious the credit crunch would become.

His blunt remarks lay bare the unease in the highest ranks of the cabinet that the downturn is making it all but impossible for Gordon Brown to recover momentum after a series of setbacks.

The chancellor, who says that Labour faces its toughest challenge in a generation, admits that Brown and the cabinet are partly to blame for Labour's woes because they have "patently" failed to explain the party's central mission to the country, leaving voters "pissed off".

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/aug/30/alistairdarling.economy

[fedsron2us]

1. Failed to explain the party's central mission ?

What supporting wars of aggression, an unrestricted orgy of crony capitalism, a credit debauch of a type not seen since the 1920s followed by a bust that may eventually rival the depression of the 1930's. People have started to get the message about this government loud and clear. That is why they are pissed off. Britain may not have been able to avoid the impact of a world wide economic down turn but Darling and his predecessor Brown could have stopped quite so many people getting burnt by the simple expedient of reintroducing credit controls when it was clear lending was getting out of hand. The simple fact that the Labour party was so terrified of the City that it could not take on the financial sector on this issues is the reason why it is not fit to hold office.