Tories blame Brown for Britain’s lack of savings

The Conservative Party has blamed the new prime minister Gordon Brown for the relative lack of savings among consumers across the UK.

During his time as chancellor, Mr Brown has left millions of people around the country without an inclination or the ability to put money aside for later life or to avoiding debt management problems, the Tories insist.

“On his watch, the savings ratio has plummeted to its lowest level for nearly 50 years while personal debt has soared to over £1 trillion,” said Philip Hammond, shadow chief secretary to the Treasury.

“It says much about the culture of Gordon Brown’s Britain, after ten years of Labour, that people are more likely to play the National Lottery than save regularly for their future,” he added.

Mr Hammond was reflecting on figures released by the Post Office that show debt management pressures and a lack of spare money have left a quarter of British adults without any kind of savings provision.

Figures from Credit Action show that the total personal debt burden of British consumers increases by close to £1 million every four minutes.