The promise to scrap the National ID card scheme is the way to go. And the RDAs. Keep listing what is going to go and how much will be saved.

How about an emergency 10% cut in all Quango budgets? Stop giving overseas aid to nuclear-armed space-faring nations like India and China. Postpone expenditure on Trident, the twin-carrier project and downsize the NHS IT scheme.

The Tories should be questioning the government hard every time they announce new expenditure. What was it the other day – spending £400 million to stop us all being too fat by 2050!!!!

Brown's championing of the free market as if it were his invention, has overlooked the fact that Chinese, American and European imports will be much more expensive and that they may be wondering how Brown's actions which lead to the drop in exchange rates of sterling, is not in itself 'protectionism'. Has he engineered this I wonder so our exports are better positioned and foreign goods become less attractive here ?

I wonder whether China, Russia, the U.S and Europe will also be wondering ?

In a veiled slap down of the incoming American president Obama, Brown said that a return to protectionism of the 1930's will lead to "ruin".
FT Francis Elliott in Washington, Suzy Jagger in New York and Gary Duncan, Economics Editor TIMESONLINE appear to think this is a direct reference to Obama's plan to save the American car giants General Motors, Ford and Chrysler, which between them employ 3 million people.

The EU said that it was ready to take action against the US at the World Trade Organisation if aid for the stricken US car industry was judged by the European Commission as illegal under international rules. The US Congress approved a $25 billion (£17 billion) aid package for American carmakers in September, although no timetable was fixed for payments to be made.

Republicans on Capitol Hill oppose plans championed by Nancy Pelosi, the Democratic Speaker of the House, to use taxpayers’ money to rescue the big three car companies, General Motors, Ford and Chrysler. The industry employs about three million people across the country, and iconic of the American Dream. Wall Street is scared that should the aid be delayed, General Motors, which gave warning last week that it would run out of money by Christmas, will go bust.

The Commission for the European Union ( which is referred to in WTO talks for legal reasons as the "European Communities" ), has made its position and therefore the position of every member, unequivocally clear in that it ( all EU members ), does not want America to have any influence in its own economy or to take unilateral measures which could save millions of jobs.

Whilst Bush is in office I doubt we'll see much change there then, and going by the FT report, which says the car giants will be "Bust by Christmas", it is very unlikely that Obama will be able to arrange his rescue plan.

If the European Union are saying this to America, and show no intention of "saving jobs", except those in the higher echelon's of banking, then it makes me wonder since there is no benefit of job protection for the ordinary man and woman in the street, why they feel being a member of the damned EU is in their interest !

Like everyone else with any interest in this matter, I am waiting for the voice of America on this issue, and also that of Russia and China, which will undoubtedly see things differently and will together have a lot more muscle than a few unelected EU commissioners which speak for a European "Community", but clearly not for the people.

Does he even want to save Sterling or is he going to force us to accept the Euro, I suspect the Latter.

Winter fuel payments for the over 60's could be effectively doubled as they could get the same money again in January 2009 & families on child benefit could get a £300 lump-sum then as well .

That would get £15.6 billion to those who need it most meaning that much of that would get spent as the least well off are most likely to spend any extra cash – that should nip the downturn in the bud or at least minimize it . Or failing that if people serviced their debts then those going broke would be diminished in number – that is not bad is it ?

Either way a stimulus package worth 1% of GDP would be hailed by retailers and could boost Christmas spending and thus save jobs and help those who can least afford this recession.

Interest rates are down to 3% and cannot go much lower so if deflation is threatening a major slump then borrowing should rise now to cushion the economy at this dire time. Then from 2010-11 onwards spending on regional development agencies , QUNAGO's , civil service numbers ( by freezing recruitment ) , welfare ( by axing tax credits for the wealthy & replacing JSA & IB with one sort of payment to slash economic inactivity ), government procurement costs ( by greater usage of market forces ) and payments to the EU ( their accounts have not been signed off for over 10 years ) can go under the knife to make the UK solvent again. Smaller government & cuts in the budget deficit during a recovery will help economic stability.

I think that interest rates must be cut by 1% to 2% ASAP and that the Prime Minister & Chancellor should get £15.6 billion into the economy in January 2009. After Christmas job losses & vast personal debts caused by poor retail sales in turn caused by low levels of confidence could tip the economy into a serious decline.

The £ & FTSE would rebound sharply if investors thought that in the longer term that fiscal policy via a public sector economy drive would tighten a great deal to curb rampant public borrowing while in the short term a boost worth 1% of GDP was in play to limit the scope of a further decline in the economy.

People on lower incomes than most MP's are suffering and it is high time that our political classes sorted this out . Are they not supposed to be in business to help their electors or am I just being silly ? We need more MP's like John Redwood…..

I've not heard anyone previously underline the severity of the sterling crisis on the mainstream media. If this country was a bank it'd be Northern Rock all the rest of the world is withdrawing its deposits.