Brown blamed for “debt bubble”

Prime minister Gordon Brown has been blamed by the Conservative Party for allowing a “debt bubble” to develop in the UK over the course of the past decade.

Following the release of figures that show house prices fell by 2.5 per cent in March, the opposition party claimed that Mr Brown’s “economic incompetence” has been the reason for the current financial hardships being felt by millions of Britons.

Data on the housing market downturn came from Halifax and is seen by Tories as reflecting the poor state of affairs within the UK’s property sector, where debt managementdifficulties are proving too much for many over-stretched families.

“Gordon Brown failed to prepare, he borrowed in a boom and allowed the debt bubble to grow. Now the whole country is paying the price,” said shadow chancellor George Osborne.

Earlier this week, the Liberal Democrats urged the government to take steps to provide more debt advice to the millions of people with financial problems around the country.