So now I go to the Bank to get credit and spend spend spend on products from abroad.
Is this what the Government and the Financial experts want.

Sid Jacques, Durham, England

People will adapt as in the War- they have no choice and those who led us into this fraudulent mess should be punished. Labout will lose by the biggest majority ever once Cameron or his replacement decides to stop emulating Blair.
Bring on Ken Clarke if nothing else. He's the last of the old school

j bentley, Brighton, UK

Why is everyone blaming this on the decline of the UK manufacturing industry? The measure includes services also, i.e. banking.

Richard Ashworth, Chelmsford, UK

Whilst in theory weaker Sterling should help exporters, it adds to manufacturers woes when they have to source Dollar or Euro based raw materials, the price of imported goods is pushed higher, a fact often ignored in recent government and media analysis.

Dee Radley, Colchester, UK

Raise Interest rates; lower business taxes lower government spending. The only long term solution; else it's back to the seventies.

Paul John Graham, Greenwich, UK

Lets follow the socialist model- don't earn or create wealth, but make your money by taxing the earnings of others - lets annexe a country who deliver things and Brown can then tax them until they squeak whilst borrowing more on the back of their future earnings - like he did with the us in the UK

Derek, Cowes, UK

dead right, Steve McCarthy, Birmingham, W Midlands and Brown and Bliar took to Thatcherism like ducks to water

peter c, Devizes, Wessex

Some time ago a Lady phoned and asked if I would do a survey for the DTI. First Question – What do you do – Manufacturer – Lady “What’s that?” “We make things” -Pause- Lady “Can’t you call it something else it’s not on my list” Really sums up Labour’s attitude.

Michael Wood, London, U K

I'm no fan of labour but I must point out that Margaret Thatcher started this trend of moving away from manufacturing to the service industry. A lot of people for a long time have been saying we are too reliant on banking for income but have largely been ignored. Perhaps we will learn this time.

Steve McCarthy, Birmingham, W Midlands

whats all the fuss about. Gordon rekons that when he switches the printing press on things will soon get back to normal. trouble is Gord the press has been on for about 11 years now so more of the same is not the answer

dave jones, chesterfield, uk

Now that an opportunity has arrisen to export, there are hardly any goods to send as manufacturers have been regulated out of existance. RIP British industry!

Richard Palmer, Bath, Somerset

I have been stating this was going to happen in all my post. The slashing of the rates slahed the pound with no help to exports as is very little to export and nobody to buy . The weak pound as the UK is a net imporer of food has caused the gap.

NICHOLAS Bsc Economics, Larnaca, Cyprus

How can exports increase? We hardly export anything. In the past few years all we have exports is false numbers in the money markets. Also the EU figures show we don't need to be in the EU. They need us more than we need them.

rob, ashbourne, uk

So the low £ does not really make our exports skyrocket? O dear! Another way to close the gap might be to abolish imports. I bet that's what the government is going for - they have a natural talent for always choosing the most disadvantageous solution to a problem.

Morgan, Bristol, United Kingdom

This is a result of a national economy which has been based on consumer debt and selling ever overpriced houses to each other.

David, London,

This feels like the 70s all over again again. "Balance of payments deficit," "Sterling crisis" - what next? The IMF!?

Andrew, St. Ives, Cambridgeshire,

the more this labour gov borrows the lower the pound will go down against the dollar and the euro and other currencies,and because britain imports billions of pounds worth of goods each year and imports are paid for mainly by the dollar,we here in britain can exspect huge price increases on imports.

thomas, wallasey, uk

adrian murray, I think we understand and are more than ready to make that (not so) tough choice, to remove this pathetic government.

David Leslie, Perth, Scotland

we in britain do not make anything worth exporting these days,so why should other countries buy of us when times are bad,a falling pound wont help the british economy it will only make things worse ,through more expensive imports.

thomas, wallasey, uk

The depreciation of the pound is doing nothing to increase exports of British goods to Thailand.
British goods such as Weetabix cost exactly the same in local currency as they did last year. What is happening is that the importers are enjoying a massive windfall at the expense of the UK economy

dave smith, bangkok, thailand

All due to Labour. Thanks to endless crucifying rules and regulations who would want to make anything in this country or employ people if it can be done elsewhere?

peter wallis, london, uk

New Labour's legacy.

Andrew Brown, derby, uk

we're doomed... we don't make anything special other countries want to buy... and the entire "boom" was fueled by people extracting "equity" out of ridiculously overvalued houses

paul cooke, gloucester uk,

These figures are just appaling, yet their magnitude is frankly unsurprising.
This country needs to start manufacturing again.
We cannot continue to import the vast majority of our requirements.
Why can't the Government see this?

david cooper, aylesbury, uk

This hardly comes as a surprise. After all, the current government has fostered financial services at the expense of manufacturing.

You can't imagine anyone buying our financial acumen now, can you?

Ian Tinn, Slough, UK

All the chickens are now coming home to roost. No country can forever live above its means and no government can forever hide the facts while conducting a popularity contest masquerading as democracy.The sooner the electorate understand this and are allowed to make the tough choice the better.

adrian murray, Sydney, Australia