"Current policy objectives are conflicting and incoherent. The Government needs to decide on its key priority."

Not my words, but those of the Council of Mortgage lending whose director-general said:

"To different degrees lenders are facing conflicting pressures to recapitalise against possible future losses, service government's preference shareholdings at 12 per cent, pay a premium to access the Bank of England Special Liquidity Scheme, show forbearance to borrowers in arrears, follow base rate moves down to help their existing borrowers, keep savings rates high to support existing savers, and provide competitive rates to new borrowers and savers to maintain economic activity in a recession.

"And they are supposed to ensure their long term financial stability to help the UK economy rebuild itself when we are out of the recession. Current policy objectives are conflicting and incoherent. The Government needs to decide on its key priority. The tug of war with lenders being pulled in every direction at once needs to end."

Gordon Brown's economic policy incoherent, surely not.