Down the pan?

Erk alors!

Britain plagued by worst trade deficit since 1697 | Special Reports | Guardian Unlimited Politics: "Britain plagued by worst trade deficit since 1697


· Government statistician admits UK is £56bn in red
· Figures have deteriorated every year since 1997

Angela Balakrishnan and Larry Elliott
Saturday February 10, 2007
The Guardian

Crowning the worst year for the trade deficit since figures for imports and exports were first collected in Stuart times, the government admitted yesterday that Britain was just under £56bn in the red in 2006.

Data from the Office for National Statistics showed that under Tony Blair, Britain's trading performance has been worse than under any of his Labour predecessors. Worse than under Clement Attlee and Harold Wilson, both of whom had to devalue the pound when the trade figures turned nasty, and worse than under James Callaghan, who was forced to seek help from the International Monetary Fund amid the sterling crisis of 1976."