Reply: No she is not above the law. She was talking about buying a house rather than stocks or shares, and she did fall short of telling any individual to buy one.

The reason house prices are both so high & fluctuate so much is because it is government regulation not supply & demand that controls how many are built. Houses have risen in price 4 times faster than the RPI whcih means in a free market they would cost 1/4 of what they do. Obviously this is not what statist politicians mean when they talk about “affordable housing” – they mean government subsidies to mitigate the government price rises.

WilliamB makes the point above as well as many others: all correct, all sensible.

However, one point that we are all missing is that Neu Arbeit says that the fundamentals of our economy are sound. Particularly, they trot out ‘low interest’ rates and high levels of employment.

Can they not see that the economy must have some sort of fundamental fracture within it if, under these two conditions, people can’t afford to buy a house?

Is it a sign of things to come? Will we see a series of toe-in-the-water policy changes made more in hope than expectation? That is certainly how I view this announcement.

Why are we not hearing of a suspension of the £1.5billion promised just a couple of months ago for a congestion charge scheme in Manchester? Why are we not hearing of a culling of Quangos? Why are we not hearing that a dozen or more reviews into proposed new spending plans are being put on hold? The list can go on and on.

The current state of the economy requires such a radical (and structural) change to government policy that dabbling at the edges is likely to do more harm than good. The problem is that after 11 years of building the problem it is politically impossible for Labour to take the steps needed to avert a long-lasting downturn.

I wonder how many deckchairs there were on the Titanic.

US contacts are telling me that the dollar is going up because a lot of Euro and Pound holders are selling these currencies and buying dollars as they fight pressure for their currencies to depreciate. Too difficult for me. Also, “the market rewards those countries where the authorities are focused on fighting inflation, and punishes those currencies where the authorities are more focused on growth”.

He added; “if you haven’t bought your dollars for Aspen next February, buy them now, I am forward on the pound at a dollar 56 by then.”

F************************k !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

There could be a number of reasons for this odd situation: …”

“How the courts are coping with the mortgage crisis
Stephen Gerlis
Times Online, August 18, 2008

I would respectfully disagree with the reasons given by the judge (follow the link to the article); instead, I would suggest that the people who haven’t paid a penny on their mortgage loans are either greedy profiteers who were hoping to sell on the property at a higher price, or greedy rentiers who cannot find tenants. Instead of Neu Arbeit trying to help these people, shouldn’t they be cleared out of the market as soon as possible?

I refer to my previous complaint about interfering with the market only having the effect of prolonging the recession.

A bit like the NHS heat map Hazel Blears had of the NHS vs Labour marginals a few years ago.

I’m guessing it would show this move is very political. Of course its the outlying, economically, areas where house prices will drop the most, so Hazel is perhaps helping her own supporters into negative equity.

When you deal with the Labour party you should use a long spoon.

What’s crueller: getting someone to struggle to pay down a mortgage loan for a further five years and loose the house anyway; or just allow them to walk away and start again? Bear in mind that the five year payment will most probably be for the interest on the loan rather than drawing down the loan.