There is an inevitability in politics that your unguarded, or for that matter your carefully delivered words will come back to haunt you. Here are some of Gordon Brown’s.

In his 1997 Budget speech, Gordon Brown said, “I will not allow house prices to get out of control and put at risk the sustainability of the future”. He went on to say that he did not want a return to ”instability, speculation and negative equity” of the 1980’s and 1990’s.

Now lets remind ourselves of what has actually happened. In the 10 years from 1997 to 2007, the average house price rose by some 200%, even higher in some areas. During the same period, average earnings rose by just 52%. The price rises were as a direct consequence of the free flow of easy credit, low interest rates, an explosion in ‘buy to let’ schemes pushing limited housing stock even higher, lenders taking much higher risks with loan to value (ltv) mortgages often approaching 125%  and multiples of 6 or 7 times salaries used to calculate a homeowners ability to pay.

Gordon Brown knew what was going on and in spite of his assurances that he would not allow it to happen, that is precisely what he did. Everyone was telling him that is was not sustainable, he had studied the effects of the same problem experienced under the previous Tory government and he still chose to do nothing. A sceptic may surmise that he knew the economic growth, for which he claimed credit, was built on the back of easy credit, reckless lending and property equity releases.  

Now we are witnessing monthly falls in price prices, often of 2%, a return to negative equity and rising house repossessions. Furthermore, with the rise in inflation, the bank of England are virtually powerless to do anything for the borrowers in terms of rate cuts. The bottom line is the so called ”iron chancellor” failed in his commitment to the people of this country.

Gordon Brown and some of the press would argue that Gordon Brown is the best qualified person to sort out this mess. I would argue, that unless, or until he can admit his responsibility in this fiasco, rather than blaming everyone else, he is probably the least qualified. The public can forgive mistakes and take account of incompetence, but they will never understand delusion.