55 years in the City and I learnt a great deal. We are now heading for a depression and the only way out will be to bite the bullet and suffer.
Weak Government and a complete cave in to the weaker side of human nature have lead the UK towards a precipice.

John, Lisbon, Portugal

The article is written as if the prospect of a serious economic downturn comes as a surprise: it has been quite obvious for at least six months and quite possibly for a year that this would happen bit by bit: the economy of the last decade has been wholly unsustainable.

James E. Petts, Burnham, England

So where is our tax rebate? The Americans are getting between $600 and $1200 each this moth. How come our government can't do the same for us...after all we are sooo alike...following them to war and all!

Glynn, Kingston,

While it's not ideal, lack of growth is not a cataclysmic disaster. Even small negative growth is not the end of the world, except for those who want to redistribute more of the country's wealth and cover the process by absorbing economic growth in the process. There's far too much hysteria!

Colin, shrewsbury,

Do you think Gordon Brown will nationalise B & B & try to use the tax payer to shore up failed banks that have carried out his failed economic policies that were based on creating a false sense of security by turning property into stocks & shares instead of a social need & resulting debt mountain ?

Leonard, London,

Why are banks charging higher fees for mortgages when their interest rates are going up.They want it both ways and there lies the reason they are causing this housing slump.get the margin between the base rate and their lending rate up and their arrangement fees up and then slowly start to lend again

Kevin, London , England

John cant beleive you actually think we are going into recession because of people talking gloomy. Recession occurs when we have negative growth. Talk does not affect growth, Selling the UK as Gordon Brown has done and building an over inflated economy on debt is why we are in a finacial mess.

chris, ex pat zurich, switzerland

It's going to get very much worse: the UK is going down the tubes.

Abdul Majeed, Bradford, West Yorkshire, UK

As a businessman, when I can't shift stock I take the hit and drop the price of the goods I sell.
Instead of dropping prices, housebuilders stop building, thereby cutting off any chance of income generation.
As sure fire, one way ticket to insolvency.
Madness.

Gareth Jones, Dusseldorf, Germany

The Bradford and Bingley has been on the rocks for months now,but not quite as far north a rock as the last victim to fall prey to incompetence,negligence and greed at the top.
Get the FSA in there quickly before they start shredding everything and freeze the private bank accounts of the directors

james allen, manchester, england

The government has no excuses left to continue high levels of immigration to cover job demand and suppress wages, they should official stop refuse all applications now, to hep our newly unemployed workforce

Chris, Ely, England

Demand for good family homes in good areas remains strong, I should know as I work for most of the major & some minor house builders. What do I end up trying to sell? Flats. Often with open plan kitchen/receptions which do not appeal to active retired downsizers who are also out there looking.

C. Andos, Surrey,

You're right Ted. Land is drastically over-valued. A disaster for any PLC with a big landbank. House builders certainly. Grocers possibly.

Mike, UK,

Yes you just keep talking David Frost of British Chambers and if you talk gloomly enough often enough then sure enough you will manage to talk the british public in to believing you and create what you want, a recession. use you brain Frost and talk things up ,not destroy business with big mouth

John, London, UK

we all knew that another bank was due to go under from the wording of the latest banking act rushed through after the Northern Rock debacle- 5 gives you 10 a couple more are wobbly

peter c, devizes, wessex

Kevin, the average UK house price has gone up 250% in 10 years. Materials and labour costs haven't gone up by nearly that much over the same period (an increase of around 40%, actually). So why can't houses be built at a profit now!? It can only be due to over inflated land prices. Let them fall.

Ted, London, UK

As a developer i agree that more affordable homes need to be built, but rising land prices, labour and material costs have made this near impossible, add to that a falling market where is the incentive? Small developers like my company cannot afford to be greedy and want to help but how?

kevin, sleaford,

Falling pound, falling house prices... British housing stock is soon going to be as attractive to European professional landlords as Spanish villas used to be to British second-homers. Maybe another sell-off of UK assets is about to happen?

Brian Eave, Wales,

There's still plenty of business to do, housebuilders in particular just need to build properties people can afford to buy not just bellyache, or go into building for rent. Companies need to structure to meet the new challenge, those that do will survice and prosper.

Roarke, Wembley, UK