Current advice and traditional advice to indivdual investors is hang on, dont sell. Investments are for medium to long term ie Beyond 5 years. Surely this is allowing individuals to slowly withdraw their own investments perpetuating this downward cycle. My advise is sell, sell, sell

Alasdair Fraser, Dubai, UAE

Thats OK, you said the UK economy is well placed to ride out the storm. didnt you?

ronnie, Bridego Bridge, UK

Typical Labour tactic - trying to scare us into accepting what they want do to us. Next they'll be saying that borrowing this vast sum of money is the only way to protect us against terrorism, mass immigration, and global warning.

Ian, London, UK

They now say they must reflate - even print money perhaps, as the money supply is falling. Where were they when the money supply was going through the roof at 15% pa and house prices were increasing by 15% pa too?
They were basking in boom.

N Reed, London, UK

Too late Broon! 10 years of borrowing has now turned to bust!. So many families have mortgaged themselves to the hilt to buy overpriced houses that it would be impossible to 'help' them all! Just take yourself off for a nice rest and leave the next Government to pick up the pieces. ASAP!

sophie smith, london, uk

What's really scary is that its the "brainy" people that got us into this through poor risk management and a lack of due diligence - these are the same people who look down on production and retail workers whose "uncompetitive" productivity they often blame for dragging down a country's performance.

David Waller, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada

The headline should be "only a new leader will save us now".

Gordon was tired and spent after only a couple of months - the country is suffering big time while he treads water until the next election.

Rob, B'ham, UK

QUOTE : What happened to "no more boom and bust" mr Brown?

actually he wasn't wrong what we have now is far worse - McBroon and Bankrupt

with no hope of a recovery for years to come, we're in a hole and he's still digging.

mark, Bury St Edmunds, UK

Prudence?
The Golden Rule?
No more Boom and Bust?

Should we be surprised to see that Labour have wrecked the economy? When have they ever been in power and not wrecked the economy? At least we have our budget surplus/pension pot/gold reserves/low levels of debt to fall back on...

ben, london, uk

Two & a Half per cent off VAT is hardly a stimulus-big deal.A policy on the sharp practice of mortgage lending ie the gap between variable rates \& bank of england base rate,that customers should not be paying more than one percent over base rate will solve a lot of suffering,in rip off Britain

Glen, Exeter, uk

Isn`t this the same Gordon Brown who was telling us that mass immigration was good for the economy? The same Brown who fully backed the hugely expensive, ongoing Iraq disaster? The same Brown who sold off 60% of our gold reserves for a song, and has presided over thousands of Post Office closures?

Ged, Liverpool, UK

I'm getting sick of this not my fault, guv, it's global, guff, why banks Britain and America going bust should cause a global crisis is beyond me

peter c, Devizes, Wessex

Lots of desparate promises there.
Suppose, people still don't have confidence in the Banks and Browns actions, what then?
He'd better stockpile the Baked Beans (or cake) because as we all know, "The grunts are only 3 meals from Revolution" and there are a lot of people going hungry this week.

Richard, UK,

"Banks are being told to let people in difficulties stay on in their homes"

And I suppose that will include parasitic Buy To Let landlords too. Won't work - this is another reason why the economic crisis will not go away until politicians stop using it to push through their own interests/agendas.

Paul, London, UK

Cutting VAT will not be passed on to the consumers, it will just give retailers an opportunity to squeeze a little more profit out for themselves. And when it eventually goes back up, probably to 20%, it will a) remain higher and never go back to 17.5%, and b) retailers will sting us again.

Damian, Cheltenham,

Discontent and conflicts occurs whenever one group believes that another group is benefiting at their expense – Brown’s/Darling’s objective is to benefit some groups at the expense of other groups. Where do we find these people?

Brian Christley, Abergele, UK

It's a bit like King Canute tryin to stem the tide. He built up thie housing bubble with cheap debt and left the banks go unchecked and nothing is going to stop the inevitable. The question is do we needlesly waste money in public sector schemes or spend it on real publicly owned works.

Neil, Cardiff, Wales

Drastic action? What we need is the resignation of the man who FORCED the country into the mess that we now have. How many times have labour dragged the country into recession and depression? Perhaps if he'd listened to the savvy public. The destruction of a nation... and it can only be by design...

Steve Aynsley, Blyth, England

It won't make any difference. All the business comunity and the public want to do is pay of its debts not borrow more. The banks may be forced to lend to us but we won't take the money. Time to bite the bullet and ride this out until we come out the other side....in ? years. We are all Japanese now.

CH, Liverpool, UK

Not until some bright spark comes along and sorts out the stupid housing market in this country shall we have a sound economy that can prosper through consumers being able to spend their income on other things apart from cripling mortgages and housing rent.

D R Knight, Birmingham, Warwickshire

Phil Deamer, Lawrrence, KS, USA
If it's a global recession caused by the US perhaps the erudite Phiol can tell us why Sterling has plummetted drastically against the US dollar and the Euro. And how come,Phil "one of the greatest Chancellors of our time has overseen the collapse of the UK economy?

Roy, UK not USA,

(Not new) Labour's solution to everything. Health - spend more money. Education - spend more money. Banks in trouble - spend more money. Recession hits - spend more money. The claim that there is international agreement on this is a lie. Look at Germany! This is a Labour built disaster.

Robin Jackson, Albany, New York

The major supermarkets, the petrol companies the utility companies and the banks are holding the public and therefor the country to ransom.

Until steps are taken to "SORT THIS" the country will not recover from what is going to be deflation in the New Year.

Mr Darling take notice!

John Cook, Malvern, Worcestershire

Yeah of course he undestands the problem...the whole banking system is a fraud. Our foundations have been build around the biggest fraudsters ever.
Fractional reserve banking system is the source of all our problems. Have any of you ever wondered where the "money" bank lend us is coming from ?

zec, Athens,

how much growth has the british ecconomy actually had under labour. we have piled on £700billion + of household debt, public debt is 1.3trillion and the global ecconomy has boomed. if debt and public spending hadnt boomed, along with the global ecconomy, we wouldnt have had much growth if any!

will, grimsby, uk

Any tax rebate I may get will just go to the energy companies that have fleeced us without penalty. My bank has failed to pass on anything like the full interest rate drop. So how is this meant to increase consumer confidence Messrs Brown and Darling ?

Paul Peachey, Oxford, UK

I hope to take any tax cuts now and then migrate to somewhere warm before having to repay it (with interest). I am fed up with my taxes paying for scroungers and layabouts. To those who are about to be conned yet again by Brown, remember the Russian saying, 'The only free cheese is in the mousetrap'

Bob, Cowes, UK

The best help is self help. All must look at their own expenditures. Cut down on the frills. The future will bring tax increases, and that means less money in the pocket. The government says spend your money to soften the economic crunch. I say save your money and reduce your lifestyle spending.

Jim Wills, Brisbane, Australia

Mr Brown we owe £1, 400 bln in consumer debt, corporates have debts of over £2,000 bln and you are saying that we have no alternative other than to take on more debt. Instead of borrowing more why don't we use what we have to generate enough wealth to pay off our debts!!

Phil, Watford,

If Brown wants to help people why not make sure Rail fare increases do not happen in January. If people can travel to work for less it will help if they are made unemployed. They can take lower paid jobs and not feel the financial strain so much. I know not everyone will benefit but it is a start.

Mike, London, England

We welcome the government's programme for dealing with the recession. Gordon Brown is showing excellent leadership in dealing with a crisis the began in the USA. What we don't want is the do nothing attitude that was so prevalent in the 1930s National (Tory) governments.

Roger, Bushey, UK

What happened to "no more boom and bust" mr Brown?

You weren't "wrong" about that, were you?

tris, dundee, Scotland

If Gordon is so clever how come he did not forecast that trouble was looming in the financial world. Even a few weeks ago he was promising boom with no boost. There is always problems when people become deluded and think that economics do not apply to them because they no better than anyone else.

Allan Matthewson, Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Labour. Buy now pay later. That is exactly the attitude which has resulted in this Financial meltdown. Instead of borrowing to spend lets try cost cutting by Government. Lose the over funded quangos, cut the gross excess in the civil service.

Robert, Hartlepool,

Drastic action is indeed needed. The drastic action of brown resigning and letting someone competent get us out of the mess that he allowed to happen. Go now brown, and good ridance.

Chris, Derby,

Any single parent could run this Country's economy, it's not rocket science, you do not steal money from your children's money box to buy Champagne!
We do not need to ape the American Government who gave one Bank, 6 billion Dollars who used it to pay their 460 partners $2-3 million 'Bonuses'.

Clive Burghard, Lancing, ENGLAND

Gordon Brown is taking the difficult but right decision and he understands the global nature of the problem. The Tory approach would impact the economy like driving a car at 60 mph and putting it into first gear! Stall and crash. At times like this we need to think big, think global

William Jones, Bangor, UK

The FSA was a Brown quango and Brown claimed economic miracles no more "Boom or Bust". Why should Labour ever be trusted with the economy, they have consistently raised taxes and wasted Trillions of £'s. Now Brown claims increasing the tax burden to 60% of GDP is the only way! He is a FOOL!

steve tea, manchester, cheshire

A pity that Daddy Brown's repertoire of proverbs did not include "Don't throw good money after bad" and "A saver not a borrower be" and "Don't close the stable door after the horse has bolted". But those are for the prudent, not the reckless.

David, London, UK

People think that this is about the economy it is about winning an election,full stop.What makes it worse is that we have an ineffectual opposition,bring back Ken Clarke.

vicky, london,

May I suggst the most simple approach would be to roll back the massive number of (stealth) tax increases introduced since Labour came into office?

Richard Ingle, Norwich, Norfolk

The French don't have such problems, they've not used their homes for 100% credit, their banks aren't over leveraged with crazy SIVs, they still make their own cars, they've 80% of their electricity supplied by renewables .....

Perhaps the UK should decouple from the USA and learn from the French ?

Sid Holder, Brighton, UK

Seing as Brown has decided to use proverbs, how about he remembers the one about stopping digging when you're in a hole?

P Williams, London,

Funny how so many companies are laying off staff but not a mention of cutbacks in the civil service. Maybe if some of the grossly bloated government departments reduced their wage bills there wouldn't be the need for a tax rises in the future.

Ian, Farnborough,

There is no recession; and let's stop talking about it shall we?

Giancarlo, London, England

The recession should be allowed to ride its course which was caused by irresponsible borrowing and encouraged by Brown and the banks. There is nothing Labour or the Tories can do. People need to learn to live within their means just like we used to.

David, Doncaster, UK

this is typical of this contries mentality at the moment - buy now, pay later. Its this attitude that in part got us into this mess. Whatever happened to poor old prudence...probably bankrupt and homeless like many people will soon be.

David, Tamworth,

Browns great gamble .If it comes off he will be back in power
If not , Tories will have to pick up the pieces and he can move on to the well paid "lecture" circuit telling people how he created Britains wonder economy .
Cant really lose can he ?

John, Ipswich,

Brown is playing high stakes with the economy simply to get more votes. Yes, he will condemn the nation to a bleak future however he preys on the lack of intellect of the masses. Good spin and a few pounds more in the pocket today is a vote winner. Never mind that it will hurt all the more tommorrow

Chris, Weybridge,

McClown is about to condemn the UK economy to a slow lingering death.

Yes, the recession is going to be painful, but Brown's plan is simply a recipe for a disaster.

Why is no one speaking out?

Peter MacKay, Burton on Trent, UK

the stimulus wont work, why would a poor person spend a handout if they know they have to pay it back soon? not to mention that our ecconomy is going down faster than the handout can match.+our ecconomy is fundamentally unbalanced, we need less shops and public spending and far far more innovation.

will, grimsby, uk

My father used to say "Beware Greeks bearing gifts" and "There's no such thing as a free lunch". Unless you're a labout party minister of course. Brown created this mess, nobody elected him, Mugabe has more legitimacy. Resign now and take your Champagne Socialist freeloading friends with you.

R Kharma, Manchester , UK

We have no control over what these idiots do, we have no real choice when it comes to voting, tories or labour, thats it. They care about themselves not us, we need more choice when voting.

dan, birmingham,

Well I for one am greatly encouraged by Brown's moves over the last few weeks. Who better than one of the greatest Chancellors of our time leading our country at a time like this. Incidentally, this is indeed a global recession, caused in large part by the American mortgage/housing crash.

Phil Deamer, Lawrrence, KS, USA

Britain is going to pay later anyway. Any temporary tax cuts Gordon gives now will have to be paid back with interest in a couple of years. Rumour is VAT will rise to 22.5% in 2010 to pay for Brown's pre-election bribe. We need to face facts: We have over-borrowed & overspent. Cut Govt spending.

Donna Walker, Effingham, England

If the situation is that bad, why, oh why, did no one see it coming?

Paying later is something we'll have to get used to. The tax increases once the worst of this is past will be horrible.

Where is the opposition?

tris, dundee, Scotland

Is it possible for the man who got us into this mess to save us?

And now they're telling the banks what to do: were'nt we promised that this wouldn't happen?

Does anybody believe a word this government says?

Martyn Taylor, Swindon, England

brown knows nothing, colin. his economics as chancellor were "spend, spend, spend."
his advisers don't know any better...let us pray that a new government can sort this mess out after the next election.

grindles, london, england

Building societies would never go for a repossession before three months anyway, in fact such an action usually takes nearer six months. This is just more spin from the government, wanting to be seen to do something. Repossessions up 12% is just the start, with lenders having given up to 7x income

jim, leeds, uk

Let me guess, more handouts for the lazy, feckless and financially irresponsible and a future punitive tax grab from those who work , save and live within their means.

Frank Hegarty, Farnborough, UK

Brown's unbelievable, 2 years ago he was single handedly responsible for Britains apparent economic miracle!, now the economic mess is nothing to do wtih him, it's a global problem and he's the one with all the answers! C'mon Gordon who do you think we all are?

Tim, Cambridge , uk

brown announced he was going to sell them before he did it which makes it worse. both parties support more independence for the privately owned central bank cartel that is the bank of england so until we abolish it nothings gonna change ! fiat currency, fractional reserve banking, bank bailouts.

simon lomax, warrington, uk

Only drastic action will save the UK? Okay then chicken Brown, call that general election RIGHT NOW! Before your "budget" bribes can come into effect on the feckless wasters who you want to throw money at to keep this ponzi economy you created moving.

Anja, Frankfurt A.M, Germany

Brown caused UK to be in so deep in trouble and it sticks in my throat he is now playing the saviour

Anyone who sells our Gold reserves at a low price is unfit to manage a personal current account

This is probably needed but due to 11 years of Labour we are now so in debt it defies belief

Guy, London, UK

Surely, if we have major tax rises in two years to pay for all this, it will hit us just as we are fighting our way out of recession?

Steve, Birmingham,

It's clear that Brown knows nothing of economics. We can only hope that his advisers, political or civil service, know more. History is not encouraging on this point.

Colin, shrewsbury,