"I could walk away from this tomorrow"

So says Gordon Brown in Saturday's Guardian. Don't let us stop you Gordon, just walk away but do leave a forwarding address where we can send the writs and the police.

Apparently

"(the) Prime minister is 'hurt' by personal attacks – but insists he can win next general election for Labour"

"Hurt"! Not as hurt as we have been by his screwing up of the UK economy. And still delusional I see.

"He also acknowledged that he "didn't know a lot about" banks buying up sub-prime mortgages during his period as chancellor"

Negligence?

"The idea that any party in government would need to cut public spending was "a myth", he said, and the Tories' adoption of a strategy of cuts proved that they could no longer "talk about being mainstream"."

Delusional, delusional, delusional... oh and a liar.

"claimed that he is not skilled at political manoeuvring — "I don't actually think I'm very good at it at all.""

Surely there is more that Gordon Brown is "not very good at" than political manoeuvring; how about economics, mathematics and behaving like a normal human being?

Another delusional minister

Michael Wills on Radio 4's Any Questions tonight showed severe signs of being delusional. This government are all rapidly losing touch with reality.

It's delusional Gordon - as a ringtone!

Now you can have delusional Gordon as a ringtone...

Does Jack Straw actually believe this tripe?

From The Guardian comes Jack Straw writing an article entitled "Labour's decade is liberty's best since the vote was won". It includes some pearlers such as:

"Does the sun rise in the east? Has Labour enhanced rights and liberties? The answer to the second question is as unambiguously a yes as to the first"

"This period has seen a greater improvement in our democracy and people's sense of rights than any time since the development of the franchise between 1832 and 1928."

"So let's take a look at the list. First, the Human Rights Act. We really did "bring rights home", as we said we would. At last British people have been able directly to access and to enforce positive rights in the British courts, rather than having to go to Strasbourg and wait for years in a queue.

Some on the right complain that all this has been is a "villain's charter". Nonsense. However uncomfortable the idea may be, it must be the case that, in a democratic society, even those who deny rights to others have rights themselves - for example, to a fair trial."

"end to the appalling primary-purpose rule"

"freedoms from fear, crime and terrorism are as important as positive freedoms. No constituent of mine has ever complained to me that our strengthening of the criminal and antisocial behaviour laws is incompatible with their sense of rights. They are just happy that crime and disorder is down and that they can enjoy a quieter life."

"we have deepened and extended civil liberties for all."



Delusional, simply delusional. And the comments on CIF seem to agree with me...

"Is this a joke Jack? If so it's a bit sick."


"Only this government could pen a piece about individual liberties without mentioning the ID card and the explosion in surveillance cameras.
False orthodoxy? That's Whitehall speak for 'the public are morons'"


""we have deepened and extended civil liberties for all"

Aye and "war is peace" etc.

It is this contempt for reality and voters, as expressed through manifest lies and deception, that one deperately hopes, will see Labour kicked-out of power.

Have they learned nothing from the shameful Blair years? Apparently not."


"The culture in Whitehall has been changed beyond recognition from what I witnessed as a young special adviser in the 1974-79 Labour government, when the "it's the man in Whitehall who knows best" attitude was still dominant.

I laughed so much I a little bit of wee came out."


"You are taking the piss right? Because the idea that you believe this crap is too, too scary."


"Please allow me also to make a list:

Indefinite detention without trial
28 days pre-charge detention, maybe rising to 42
Banning of protest within 1 mile of Parliament
Use of the Terrorism Act to prevent legitimate protest
National Identity Register
ID Card
DNA database
NHS Spine register
National Child database
Kratos Shoot to Kill policy
Heaviest concentration of CCTV cameras in the world
Complicity in CIA extraordinary rendition
Automatic Number Plate Recognition systems

Worst performing Western nation in Privacy International's survey (equal to Russia and China)
http://www.privacyinternational.org/article.shtml?cmd%5B347%5D=x-347-545269

79% believe Britain is a "surveillance society" according to a YouGov poll
http://www.yougov.com/archives/pdf/TEL060101024_4.pdf

I'm sure I've missed some..."

etc. etc. etc.



And this angry one:

"Mr. Straw you really are deserving of our national contempt.

To claim "credit" for a list of laws that you believe has helped our country when in fact the reverse has been the case is the biggest example of blind arrogance I have seen from a politician in a long time.

I choked on the following:

" This period has seen a greater improvement in our democracy and people's sense of rights than any time since the development of the franchise between 1832 and 1928. "


I guess it depends what you call "people". If you are referring to the majority of people then of course that would be totally untrue, if you are talking about the promotion of tiny sectional interests at the expense of the majority then you might have something there.

But lets look at your claims:

Human Rights Act - Now thanks to this act we have to keep suspected terrorists within our communities. We can't lock them up, we can't have them under house arrest, even if they are not our nationality we have to feed, clothe, educate, medicate and pay legal fees to allow people who would potentially murder us wholesale to evade the law - nice one Jack!

Toughened Race Laws - which has meant public debate on immigration, the behaviour of certain ethnic minorities and manic political correctness has now frozen out indigenous culture and replaced it with a santisied, religion and culture free approach to Englishness/Britishness, where employers/state sector are wary of talking about anything which might allude to race or which could be construed as being "offensive" as this might land people in gaol - our society has as a result fractured majorly down racial and religious fault lines and society as a result is disintegrating - nice one Jack!

End to the "appalling" primary purpose rule - what's appalling about it? I would consider it appalling that British nationality should be bartered around the the third world as part of a marriage dowry where Indian/Pakistani/Bangladeshies use the promise of nationalisation as a lever to extract money and favours from impoverished third world marriage partners. It has been proved that this "way in" to Britain is used to exploit families, import poverty and ignorance and the lives of the people brought in this way are not only changed forever, but often they are miserable, isolated and exploited. I think it is appalling that a section of the so called "British" community behaves in this way and exploits the privalege of being British as nothing more as a commodity to be bought and sold. Nice one Jack!


"Protected from the overweaning power of the state" I can't believe you actually said that. You really are breathtakingly arrogant and complacent.

NuLabour ARE the overweaning state - it isn't some other higher authority. Your sanctimonious pronouncements on how people should live their lives, social engineering, diktats, politically correct nannying, payroll voting bloated state sector, INCOMPETENT and unfit for purpose Civil Service, riven by PC rules and shed loads of rules and regs - give it a rest Jack - you and the Labour rabble at Westminster have screwed the whole thing up good and proper.

Even your supposed triumph the diasability discrimination act has made criminals out of volunteers who have had to close down village halls and community centres, because they simply can't get the cash to enable them to comply with your airy fairy unrealistic refurbishment requirements.

Under Labour our freedoms have been stamped on and well you know it.

Even your risible attempt to justify the 28 Day business is a gobsmacking contradiction to your premise that things have never been so good.

We now can't talk about religion, race, behaviour of ethnic groups, gays, disabled, immigrants, we have to cater for every minority under the sun and suppress our own way of life and values, and if we are appalled at someone killing a goat in a suburban street, or beating hell out of their burka clad wife we are to be silent and just accept that this is Labour's new Britain.

We mustn't talk ill of the European Union, we must accept meekly the handing over of our sovereignty to a corrupt and unaccountable state without a democratic vote - because this is what Labour have decreed, the party with 23% of thre popular vote made possible through a corrupt devolutionary settlement which has effectively silenced English objections through gerrymandering, backhanders and alleged cash for peerages.

Jack you have no moral authority on anything and to come to the guardian and write this ridiculous eulogy about the new rights you have given this country when the reverse is true is a monumental insult to our intelligence.

All I can say is that you personally have been one of the most disingenous, self hating, insincere and destructive members of the cabinet, and when the time comes to write about the NuLabour years, your role as a cynical & spiteful pantiEnglish politician will be evident!"

Who's more delusional?

"A spokeswoman for BBC Wales said: “We’re satisfied that the BBC’s coverage of the events in Israel and the Palestinian Authority has been balanced, fair, accurate and up to the usual BBC standards of impartiality."

I would say that the BBC's coverage has been unbalanced, unfair, inaccurate and down to the usual BBC standards of impartiality.

However this BBC statement was in response to the protesters gluing themselves to the wall of the BBC in Cardiff. These individuals claimed that

" “Hamas is referred to as a militant organisation, rather than the democratically-elected government, having been elected by a huge majority.

“The settlements in the West Bank should be referred to as illegal, the Israeli Defence Force as the Israeli Army, and the separation barrier as the apartheid wall.”"

So who's more delusional? The protesters for believing the BBC is biased in favour of Israel or the BBC for believing that it's coverage is unbiased?

Phil Woolas's diary

I have been enjoying reading extracts from ex-Labour minister Phil Woolas's diary in The Independent, the delusional nature of some parts is quite hysterical, here's an example or three (my emphasis):

'18 March

Went on 8am train with Gordon Brown and had half an hour together on immigration policy. He's wanting to do a speech but also wants to do more on how we can fill the skill shortages – British jobs etc! He very clearly gets the importance of the issue. GB is more relaxed and confident than I've seen him – probably ever. It's a great boost to my campaign to be seen with him – the reception from the nurses and patients was fantastic and really buoyed me. My own chances are unknown but with the polls nearer together it is not impossible.

...

25 March

...

My feelings are completely mixed. I am enormously proud of the UK Border Agency and have built a good reputation....'

Delusional chap wasn't he, I hope he's better now and that he has decided who to back for Labour leader...

Delusional and evasive?

Don't laugh but this man who seems to be not only evasive but possibly delusional is Prime Minister of the UK. This man who seems able only to reply with pre-programmed sound bites or blustering attacks still runs the Country. This man who seems to smile at random moments in a manner that I find quite disturbing is the most powerful man in the UK. This man who seems to be losing touch with reality has the power to do even more damage to the UK than he has already done over the last 12 years. To be honest Gordon Brown scares me, what could he do next?

"What a phoney"

Having listened to PMQs live today but not able to blog, I find that the blogosphere and the MSM are in uproar over David Cameron calling Gordon Brown a phoney. Now the context is important, David Cameron was contrasting Gordon Brown's return to quoting from third parties with Gordon Brown's comments, as reported by me yesterday that:

"I personally have always said that modern politics, with its focus on who said what, when, how and why, is far too divisive for the problems that a country's got to meet"

Yesterday I wrote:

"So the politician who has made a career out of attacking the opposition, both in other parties and within his own, with ferocity and from dredging up old quotations from opponents at almost every PMQs says that

"I personally have always said that modern politics, with its focus on who said what, when, how and why, is far too divisive for the problems that a country's got to meet"


The word chutzpah comes to mind along with the phrase - is he f***ing serious? If Gordon Brown seriously believes what he said then he must be delusional, otherwise he is just telling yet another Brownie. "

So for David Cameron to call Gordon Brown a phoney for the sheer two-faced way he went against what he said in his Guardian interview seems more than fair to me; maybe "liar" would have been closer to the mark.


Of course the BBC and others are up in arms at the effrontery of David Cameron, indeed the Guardian go into full prim Auntie mode with this:

"The barb from the Tory leader is all the more remarkable since Brown had prefaced his remarks by talking emotionally about the death of Cameron's son, Ivan, three weeks ago."

I blogged about Gordon Brown's commiserating at the time and said that

"I just didn't buy it yesterday, Gordon Brown is not a nice person and he hates "Tory toffs". He may be able to hide it for a week or two but it seems too apparent that he viscerally hates the Conservatives and sees it as his role to keep them out of power for ever. Underneath his expressions of sympathy he and his team will be judging how best to benefit from the situation. Gordon Brown is not above using the death of David Cameron’s child for political advantage, he runs an unpopular government that is presiding over the economic collapse of the Country, he will not shirk from finagling any small political advantage out of this situation that he can."

It looks as though the Guardian are working the angles for Gordon Brown.


The other part of David Cameron's questioning that I liked was his use of the word "bunker"; it seems likely that David Cameron was alluding to the "Downfall" videos that are all over Youtube; I still think the best is the one I blogged about last December, here's a welcome reprise of the house price crash one, as it is now worse than under the Tories.



So at PMQs we had a weak, blustering Gordon Brown having to be protected by the worst Speaker of the House in living memory and the BBC concentrate on the rebuke to David Cameron. The BBC seem to have bound themselves so tightly to the Labour party that they will have to continue to do all they can to keep them in power; and as the economy slides further and further into the mire that will require more and more blatant bias. The next 14 months should be interesting and if I were David Cameron I would be planning what form my revenge against the BBC should take, and any revenge would have to be taken very very swiftly once elected, because the BBC will be attacking the next Conservative government from minute one.

Delusional or liars?

The Lib/Dems came a distant third in the Crewe and Natwich by-election and yet two days before the by-election the BBC were reporting under the headline "Lib Dems 'can still win in Crewe'" that:

"The Liberal Democrats have said they can win the Crewe and Nantwich by-election, insisting the race is "much tighter" than polls suggest.

A spokesman for Lib Dem candidate Elizabeth Shenton predicted a number of "hardcore" Labour voters would defect to the party on Thursday.

Leader Nick Clegg is visiting the constituency on Wednesday to campaign.

Recent opinion polls have put the Conservatives in the lead, with Labour in second place and the Lib Dems third.

'Positive campaign'

But Ms Shenton's spokesman said the party's own "on-the-ground" data suggested it was "within a few percentage points" of winning.

He added: "The Labour Party is no longer in the race... we have used traditional campaigning techniques - going out and meeting people.

"Elizabeth is very personable and we are trying to run a positive campaign."

...

Ms Shenton's spokesman said: "What I think will happen is that a considerable hardcore Labour vote that hasn't already gone across to us will do, when they realise that to do otherwise could give Crewe and Nantwich a Tory MP for the first time in the seat's history.""

Did the LibDems really have "on-the-ground" data that suggested it was "within a few percentage points" of winning? I would love to see this data if so.

Did the BBC really believe the LibDem campaign's claims or were they trying to boost support for the LibDems, anything to stop the evil Tories from being elected?



Thanks to Right for Scotland for the spot.

Delusional Brown returns

"Brown will embark on a three-day regional tour of England and Wales, designed to reassure voters that he is not locked in the Downing Street “bunker” and understands the impact of the downturn on people."

Let's see how many hand-picked Labour supporters he is introduced to and filmed with, as opposed to real members of the public. I wonder how adulatory the BBC coverage will be, no scrub that I think I know the answer to that one.

Global Warming miscellany

1. Climate Realists report:

'India has once again challenged the UN's climate science body - the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) --- through a new scientific paper.

The Environment ministry sponsored paper says that human induced global warming is much less than what the R K Pachauri headed IPCC had said. The cause is reduced impact of Galactic Cosmic Rays (GCRs) on formulation of low clouds over earth in the last 150 years, says a paper by U R Rao, former chairman of Indian Space Research Organisation, released by Environment minister Jairam Ramesh.

The GCRs are the ones that enter solar system from outside, mostly from exploding of stars, and help in forming low-level clouds over the earth. The theory is that the solar magnetic field deflects GCRs, thereby impacting low-level cloud formation.

Analyzing the data between 1960 and 2005, Rao found that lesser GCRs were reaching the earth due to increase in solar magnetic field and thereby leading to increase in global warming.

"Consequently the contribution of increased CO2 emission to be observed global warming of 0.75 degree Celsius would only be 0.42 degree Celsius, considerably less than what predicted by IPCC," the paper said to be published in Indian Journal Current Science had said. This is about 44 % less than what IPCC had said.

Ramesh in 2009 had released a similar scientific paper saying that the IPCC's claim that most Himalayan glaciers will melt by 2035 was wrong. A few months later, after a review the IPCC regretted the error. If Ramesh latest bid gets globally recognition, it can alter the rules of UN run climate negotiations of 200 nations.'

2. Weather Action have a helpful round-up of articles regarding 'The Claim 2010 is '2nd warmest year on record' and explains why this 'is delusional, irrelevant & disingenuous – the last gasp of the failed global warming cult'


3. The Carbon Sense Coalition explain that

'CO2 is not a pollutant and it is not a poison and we should not corrupt the English language by depriving “pollutant” and “poison” of their original meaning.

Our exhaled breath contains about 4% CO2. That is 40,000 parts per million, or about 100 times the current atmospheric concentration. CO2 is absolutely essential for life on earth. Commercial greenhouse operators often use CO2 as a fertilizer to improve the health and growth rate of their plants. Plants, and our own primate ancestors evolved when the levels of atmospheric CO2 were about 1000 ppm, a level that we will probably not reach by burning fossil fuels, and far above our current level of about 380 ppm. We try to keep CO2 levels in our US Navy submarines no higher than 8,000 parts per million, about 20 times current atmospheric levels. Few adverse effects are observed at even higher levels.

By William Happer, Cyrus Fogg Brackett Professor of Physics, Princeton University'

4. Steven Goddard explains why 'NSIDC only likes to talk about 5+ year old ice. (Because it hasn’t yet been five years since 2007.)' Visit the link to see the graph...

Is Gordon Brown a hypocrite?

The BBC report that:

"Gordon Brown has called for a more responsible banking system, in which banks are the "servants of the economy and society and never its master".

The prime minister said the Financial Services Authority was looking at how new mortgages of more than 100% should be controlled in the future.

Writing in The Observer, he called for a return of "prudent", old-fashioned high street banks.

He also said banks should have a focus on making loans to UK businesses. "

If Gordon Brown's comments weren't so delusional and misleading it'd be funny. Gordon Brown stoked up the house-price bubble as a way of keeping people voting Labour. He supported light-touch bank regulation, was openly critical of other European banking systems for their strict regulation and inflexibility.

Opinion Polls make good reading this morning

More bad opinion poll news in today's You Gov poll in the Sunday Times, not happy reading for the ever more miserable looking Gordon Brown.

"Today’s YouGov poll of almost 1,500 people for The Sunday Times shows that the Tories are in their strongest position for more than 15 years with a 13-point lead. They are on 45%, compared with 32% for Labour and 14% for the Liberal Democrats. A month ago the figures were 41% for the Tories, 35% for Labour and 13% for the Lib Dems.

Women in particular are deserting Labour. The Tories now enjoy a 20-point lead among female voters, compared with 6 points among men.

The poll also shows an unprecedented drop in Brown’s personal ratings. At the height of the Brown “honeymoon”, in August, the prime minister had a net approval rating of 48%, the difference between those saying he was doing a good job and those saying he was doing badly. In October, when he was agonising over whether to call an early election, his approval rating was still a healthy 30%. But it dropped to minus 10% last month and is down to minus 26% this month."


Oddly "90% of people think some or most of the money poured into public services has been wasted." Only 90%? Presumably the other 10% just don't think at all, maybe they are relatives of the Cabinet.

"More than a third of people – 36% – expect house prices to fall next year with 23% expecting a rise. In June, only 8% expected a fall and 61% thought prices would rise." The 23% are delusional.

"More than half of people, 53%, say they are very or fairly worried about a recession and rising unemployment next year, outnumbering the 43% who say they are not." Finally the British people realise that we have been lied to about the state of our economy and the end of boom and bust economics.

"If the economy does slide, 32% said they would blame Brown for making the economy vulnerable through high debt levels, while others said they would blame the banks or America’s mortgage market" So 68% of people still think that Gordon Brown is an economic genius. I would assume that they will be changing their minds very soon.


You can see a pdf of the You Gov poll here.

Gordon Brown at it again and the BBC are happy to go along with it

The BBC are happy to report another Gordon Brown relaunch. It would seem that our increasingly delusional Prime Minister

"has outlined a four point plan to win the next election including a pledge to make Labour a "disciplined, united and campaigning party".

He said voters wanted to see them clean up politics, help people through the recession and "put forward our vision". "

Interestingly Gordon Brown is also reported as having "said Labour candidates would have to sign a pledge to uphold "high standards of integrity"."

"high standards of integrity" - does that mean an end to lying? More on that subject later.


Only at the very end of the BBC article do the BBC tell the public that:

"He also continued his attack on what he says are Conservative plans to cut public spending by 10% - the Tories deny this and have accused Mr Brown of using misleading figures about his own plans for capital spending. "

Gordon Brown isn't finished yet?

Polly Toynbee being delusional about Gordon Brown and the Guardian Comment is Free contributors are not afraid to tell her.

What are the other 43% thinking?

According to a Newsnight poll "57% of respondents thought Gordon Brown was tainted by sleaze". What on earth do the other 43% think? That Gordon Brown is untainted by sleaze, really? Are they sure? Anyone in that 43% should be tested for other delusional symptoms.

The report continues that "28% thought David Cameron was, while acting Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable was chosen by 15% of respondents."

Apparently there "were 33% "Don't knows'" - I assume these were stripped out before the above figures were produced. Once again who are these 33%, presumably the products of the Labour educational system...

The same poll reports that "Asked which of the three is a competent leader, 43% thought David Cameron, compared to 42% for Gordon Brown and 14% for Vince Cable."

The "incompetent" tag is sticking to Gordon Brown as is the "Labour sleaze" tag; if it wasn't for the economy being about to crash causing untold misery in the UK, I would feel most cheerful at Gordon's plight.

Brown and Darling - still delusional

The Prime Minister's monthly press conference showed Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling still claiming that the UK economy is fundamentally sound and well placed to ride out the economic troubles caused by the global banking liquidity problems. Some interesting points on Northern Rock which point to a managerial problem, so the taxpayer has been forced to allocate £100bn to support this company. THERE is not going to be a repeat of boom and bust or 10-15% interest rates, maintain growth, highest employment figures and strongest economy, protection for house-owners.

Guarantee that taxpayer will get back all money. All monies loaned are backed by assets. Alistair Darling, Bank of England needs to get money loaned back. Northern Rock has a good mortgage book. One of our priorities is to get money back that was lent by Bank of England.

During Michael Crick's question re Labour MPs appalled by "British jobs for British workers", did you see Gordon's faked uncomfortable smile.

Gordon Brown living in the past. Does he realise he's not Prime Minister any more?

It seems that Gordon brown's blog hasn't been updated with any articles since this delusional article posted at 6:09 pm on 7 May (my emphasis):

Renewed Mandate for Change
While are disappointed by last night's results, we must all ensure we rally around the right choices for the future of the country.

With the global downturn, voting confidence, and the burgeoning social challenges of the modern age on the agenda it's right and proper that Liberal Democrats look to those with a proven track record of delivery on the economy, reform and social justice.

With Nick Clegg's support I can renew my mandate as Prime Minister and the mandate of the Labour Party to deliver on top of the extraordinary legacy of three unprecedented terms.

In the modern age, as we tackle the challenges ahead it's right that Liberal Democrats make the responsible choice and support my continued leadership.

Surely this reflects the settled will of the people and the electorate's message from last night's results.'

'Wibble'?

What is also noteworthy is that the blog's Twitter feed is still set to Number 10's Twitter feed so Gordon Brown's blog is telling us all about Stephen Harper's visit and Andrew Mitchell's speech.

Does Gordon Brown intend to update his blog to take account of him no longer being Prime Minister or is he still in denial?


Mind you I note that Gordon Brown was never a regular blogger. The previous post to the 7 May one was one dated Sunday, August 16, 2009 and was about 'introducing new local council health 'tsars' with new responsibilities' and the 'benefits' of the NHS database.

The post prior to that was dated Friday, July 03, 2009 and makes me wonder if the blog really is Gordon Brown's or is in fact a parody:

'We in government, recognise the real challenges we all face.

Take the issue of MP's expenses which I sure-footedly navigated the government through. It has caused consternation and dismay with the electorate that rather than working as hard as we possibly could to deliver social justice and a level playing field for all, we were sometimes wasting vital time with oak beams.

Precious time we as MPs should have spent on delivering ID cards and the ID database, more CCTV, new rubbish taxes, DNA retention, more terror laws and more sex education for five year olds.'

The more articles I read the more I realise that this in fact a brilliant spoof and that it's a shame I only found it after Gordon Brown was kicked out of office.


Thanks to Mrs Rigby for the spot.

Can you spell delusional?

Listen to Tamsin Dunwoody claiming that the Labour vote held up yesterday. Apparently it was extra Conservative voters not a reduction in the Labour vote, hmmm:

Labour vote in 2005 general election - 21,240
Labour vote in 2008 by-election - 12,679

So that's 8,561 less votes in 2008 compared to 2005; how is that a Labour vote "holding up". With mathematical skills like that, Tamsin Dunwoody could be the next Labour Chancellor of the Exchequer.

House Prices

I reported on Sunday that the latest YouGov poll reported that "More than a third of people – 36% – expect house prices to fall next year with 23% expecting a rise. In June, only 8% expected a fall and 61% thought prices would rise." I commented that the 23% were delusional.

I see from Financial Spread Betting that at least one spread betting firm has closed the book on the direction of house prices. "A pretty clear picture of a decisive shift in sentiment is emerging. John Austin, head of proprietary products at IG Index, says that because of this the firm's house price markets are currently suspended and it is only accepting bets to close existing positions. 'There has been such a run of stories in the press talking of meltdown in the housing market that the volume of sell-side business left us with no choice but to close our book to new business for the time being,' he explains."


As house prices have dropped between 3% and 6% over the last month, will anyone disagree with my long standing prediction of a 30% drop in house prices?