Did Gordon Brown mention the word depression?
Prime minister's question time today was a very lively affair with David Cameron attacking Gordon Brown on a number of fronts, although most notably his quote "British jobs for British workers". While he very much got the upper hand on the Prime Minister it would appear that Gordon Brown may have made a serious gaffe which could also come back to haunt him. So what exactly did he say?
When commenting about the UK recession and the worldwide recession he was heard to mutter words "UK depression" before correcting himself to "UK recession". As you might expect the opposition political parties were very quick to pick up on this issue and suggest that Gordon Brown is aware the UK economy is heading into a depression but has yet to formally admit this in public.
As soon as Gordon Brown left the House of Commons his representatives were quick to confirm that this was a "slip of the tongue" and the prime minster had no intention of using the word depression. The news channels across the UK, and in other parts of the world, have picked up on his comment and he will receive a serious grilling over the next few days from journalists and Labour MPs alike.
Share this..
Related stories
Nationwide announces reduction in mortgage rates
While the headlines would appear to be excellent news for homebuyers in the UK, the announcement that Nationwide will as of tomorrow reduce mortgage rates by up to 0.5% is perhaps not as relevant as you may think. While there is no doubt that rates will fall tomorrow, with a four year fixed mortgage rate set to come in at 5.08% against 5.58% today, there are certain criteria which need to be adher...
Read MoreGoldman Sachs bows to public pressure
Wall Street banking giant Goldman Sachs has today bowed to public pressure and announced a reduction in the forecast $16.2 billion bonus pot for 2009. While the 32,500 staff employed by the company will still share a bonus pot of $13.3 billion, with an average annual income of just under $500,000 for each employee, the pot has been reduced from the initial forecast of $16.2 billion. It seems as th...
Read MoreBarclays Bank gags Guardian over tax plans
Barclays Bank has today been successful in a High Court action to force the Guardian newspaper to take down copies of seven leaked documents which have been shown on the company's new site. The documents relate to elaborate schemes which were instigated by SCM, Barclay's capital markets division, in what is seen by many as a scheme to avoid significant tax payments.
The documents ha...
Have you got private health insurance?
As the long term future of the NHS is called into question, more and more people are now looking towards private health insurance for themselves and their families. This is an area of the insurance market which has grown enormously over the last 20 years as waiting lists continue to grow and the so-called "postcode lottery" of health care in the UK continues unabated.
Even though ma...
International Air Transport Association fears for the future
The International Air Transport Association has today confirmed that the worldwide airline industry lost a staggering $6 billion in the first six months of 2009 which leaves the association's original forecast of a $9 billion loss for the year in tatters. A mixture of reduced business levels and increased costs has squeezed many airlines from both sides and cash flow is now a major problem in many...
Read More