Brown's bust gets worse

As if we have not had enough bad news, last Wednesday was demolition day for Gordon Brown's tax and spending policies.On the same day that new figures came out which showed Britain facing the biggest deficit in the world, the Prime Minister was ridiculed in the Commons for failing to come clean about his own plans to cut capital spending. This was compounded later that afternoon by the Governor of the Bank of England demolishing for good any claim that this discredited Government ever had a credible plan for recovery.

The judgement David Cameron and George Osborne took last Autumn to warn of Britain's looming debt crisis, and about the need for spending constraint, has been entirely vindicated.

OECD figures show just how deep Labour's debt crisis is and reinforces the warnings on debt Conservatives have been making, but which Gordon Brown still denies. The projected record budget deficit is worse than the Treasury forecast, the worst in the developed world and double what it was when Dennis Healey had to go to the IMF.

No wonder credit agencies are reviewing whether to downgrade Britain's AAA credit rating, dependent on spending plans of the government following the next General Election.

If Gordon Brown refuses to call an election, he must tackle the crisis in the public finances he has presided over. I fear he is incapable of doing so. This is another fine mess of a legacy the next government will have to get to grips with.