Unemployment Up Steeply

According to the Office for National Statistics:

‘The number of unemployed people increased by 131,000 over the quarter and by 290,000 over the year, to reach 1.92 million (the highest figure since the three months to September 1997).

More worryingly ‘there were 530,000 job vacancies in the three months to December 2008, down 69,000 over the previous quarter and down 153,000 over the year. This is the lowest figure since comparable records began in 2001.’

We now have uncontrolled debt, rapidly rising unemployment, sterling losing value on a daily basis, property prices down by 20% and Government introducing policies such as VAT cuts and bank bailouts that simply aren’t working. Gordon Brown has made a complete mess of the economy and his claim that the UK economy is well placed to weather the ‘global downturn’ is palpable nonsense.

New Bank Bailout

Another set of measures to get the banks to lend more have been announced this morning. It’s an acceptance that the previous bailout hasn’t worked and more taxpayers money is being exposed to correct the mismanagement at the banks. You get the feeling that the banks are a bottomless pit which the Government will throw money into and cross its fingers praying that the latest money thrown in will somehow get the whole banking system to work. How far off the nationalisation of all banks are we?

Banks Continue With Repossessions

11,300 homes were repossessed in the third quarter of this year which represents a 12% increase, and is further evidence that banks will do as they please regardless of what Government says. Interest rate cuts are not passed on to mortgage customers and small businesses are not given loans or overdraft facilities in troubled times but we as taxpayers are all expected to bail out troubled banks because it is apparently the right thing to do.

I wonder how those people who have lost their homes feel when they learn that some of the tax they have paid has gone to pay their bank to keep it afloat which in turn has repossessed their homes?

We wait for the pre-budget report on Monday to see what measures the Chancellor will introduce to help struggling homeowners!