SO Prime Minisier Brown and his puppet Darling expect the population of Great Britain to dash out, empty their bank accounts and spend their hard earned savings because 2.5 per cent has been taken from VAT when shops are already discounting prices by up to 60pc in an effort to make sales.

What would they buy? German, French, Swedish or Japanese cars, Korean, Japanese or German washing machines, microwaves and fridges, Japanese electronic games, Chinese toys and clothes, American and Japanese computers and software: None of this would help GB at all. Thousands more people are out of work and on social benefits, thousands are unable to pay their mortgages and are losing their homes to the banks.

What the people of GB want is work. This government should stop delaying the building of power stations and place contracts with GB companies for GB workers now.

The Cross rail project in London should have been started in 2005 — contracts are not yet placed and the congestion work required in Manchester that this Government is attempting to bully on people should be started now.

Congestion will apply to many towns and cities in GB: Start the work now, it is not rocket science.

Starting these projects will bring work for construction companies, foundries, machine shops, design companies, fabrication shops and all the smaller enterprises that help it all to function.

Brown and his reckless spending has caused GB to be deeper in recession than any other western country.

Brown tries to promote himself as a saviour. In fact, Brown/Blair have destroyed the British way of life and replaced it with binge-drinking, knife crime, hordes of economic migrants, overflowing prisons and a national debt that the grandchildren of to-day’s grandchildren will still be paying.

As Brown told us in 1997: No more boom and bust. He was half right — we’re now just bust.

Derek Coupe Tarbet Drive Bolton