Genesis

Good God it gets worse aye? The wallahs thought the UK's growth would only contract by 3.75%. It has gone to 4.75%. Of course the pound losy over 5 cents on the kiwi within hours. Just how ruined is that country? And it all appears to be down to public spending. How's that then? The services get more expensive in relation to inflation and they get worse at the same time. Where is all this money going? Labour seem to have sooooooooooo screwed up. Conservative (where's the difference??) will get in I guess next time just cos they are not labour. The old addage is not in play 'better the devil you know' in this mix methinks. I honestly reckoned the UK was on the bottom scraping along and just waiting to rise out of the abyss. How wrong was I? Suffice to say I am glad I no longer reside there.

NakiMan

God knows whats happening with the pound. After the announcement you describe above you would expect the pound to have fallen against all currencies but...

As I look at this site

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/f...6/intraday.stm

at 16:45 10/12/09 the pound is UP against everything except the NZ Dollar, AUS Dollar and the Norwegian Kronor

Doesn't make ANY sense to me

zoglet

I really hope the UK and the Brits are not as buggered as it appears. For a start it means savings will be drastically mashed, but also, despite having left the country and not being happy about the direction it is taking, I still want the best for it! It seems like everyone there is being forced to pay a a heavy price to fix a problem that was created without their approval.

sirplug

Yeh, thanks.....I'm still here!!

Not only have we lost a small fortune in the sale of the house but now we have to contend with a seriously deflated exchange rate. It'll be beans on toast for the next 2 years when we get there!

Genesis

Isn't life a bitch? In the 20 yrs I had a mortgage I was paying betwixt 6-12% interest. Now I have no mortgage rates have never been lower and as a result my cash in the UK is earning nought. And for the second time in 5 years I have got my timing sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo oooooooooooooooo wrong re foreign exchange transactions, having the 'wrong' cash in the 'wrong' place. Add into the mix Hanover Finance knocking off another 30% off the capital I have already lost, fically things are a bit shite in our neck of the woods in money terms. Ho hum..open another bottle of wine Merry Xmas everyone. I do see the amusing side of it all..bit like some 70s british comical farce.

Catch

yes you are quite right on those things,also the uk has a fully free health service,some of the best speacialist in the world,generous benefits(often abused though),cheaper shopping prices than much of Australaisa,gennerally better state schools than Australia/NZ...... pass the cold one please

Justcol

Bring on the BNP. Love em pr loathe em they are they only ones with the balls to sort it out

Justcol

Bring on the BNP. Love em or loathe em they are they only ones with the balls to sort it out

mickey_d

We're still working up to the beans

Stormer999

Most of us Brits on this site know exactly where we are...in trouble. When West Germany opened its gates to the East it went into an immediate decline economically whilst it absorbed the slack. The UK has now got it's borders open to a massive influx of gold seekers but we have not the power to pull ourselves out of trouble. Europe is trying to fit into England! 65 million people and we learn we have to build accommodation for another 10 million! Our road traffic problem is nearly over.....full stop! Now how many people live in NZ?
Room for two more?

Catch

Radical suggestion are you a full bore nazi ,racist,facist........ No you sound like the silent majority of the average working class,who often darnt air their views due to witch hunts

Stormer999

Used to love watching Alf Garnett.... Not "the done thing" nowdays..."politically incorrect"....

Gizmo27

Please point out ONE thing which is NOT politically incorrect in the UK these days!!!

The UK is broke. They reckon it will take 30 years to pay this off if we start now, but Chancellor Alistar Darling is going to spend his way out of it (And increase debt). How does that work?

What I love about all this was what Darling said. Now the UK economy is currently £1.75 TRILLION GBP in debt (164% GDP). Darling said that this will be reduced to £76 Billion GBP by the end of 2011 and that the UK economy will be at +3.75% growth by the end of this year (2009!!!). The economy is currently -4.75% growth.

Can somebody answer one simple question for me please. What planet or indeed, what UNIVERSE does Darling live in? He is out chancellor but he is talking complete &*(^&*^&*(%&*"$"$£$$$@~:{??

Stormer999

Just another simple politician, poor things are so confused they even make mistakes over their expenses!

sirplug

That's where the money is coming from, when they pay the expenses back!