Northern Rock - why Gordon's gone underground...

I'm so amazed at the moment that the Government has taken so little flack over Northern Rock. When a major financial incident happens in a country then surely it's the fault of the government - especially one that's been in power for a decade. Governments - especially in the UK - have the freedom to influence nearly all policies and regulations, particularly financial regulations. The regulations they created have failed in their first major test and this needs to be stressed.

On top of this the government also has the power to influence the running of the economy. Their running of the economy to date has been fairly good on the face of it but they've been storing up problems which are starting to creep to the surface. High consumer debt and the massive increase in house prices has stretched household budgets and encouraged the growth of risky mortgage lending. As a result as interest rates have risen and the US economy slowed the ramifications for the wider economy are far more pronounced and are likely to result in job loses, economic slowdown and greater financial instability.

I just hope that if Gordon calls a snap October people are well aware of the part he has played in the Northern Rock crisis and the wider economic slowdown that we are about to face. However, if the crisis continues then don't expect to see much of Gordon - he'll be hiding away again not doing his job!