Only drastic action now will save us, says Gordon Brown

Britain would face an even more severe recession without the multi-billion-pound tax cut and spending package that will be unveiled on Monday, Gordon Brown said yesterday.

In a dramatic attempt to raise the political stakes before the most important Pre-Budget Report since Labour came to power, he said that if he did not act now Britain would pay later.

The report will include measures to stem the number of repossessions as Mr Brown and Alistair Darling desperately try to soften the impact of the recession on families and businesses.

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The Chancellor will announce on Monday that struggling homeowners will be given three months’ grace before lenders start repossession proceedings to give them time to renegotiate loans and seek financial help.

Schemes brought in three months ago allowing owners to sell parts of their homes to councils and to help the newly unemployed with their mortgage interest payments are to be widened and improved to make them available to thousands more families, The Times has learnt.

• A d v e r t i s e m e n t

Banks are being told to let people in difficulties stay on in their homes, and the nationalised Northern Rock, which is said to have followed aggressive repossessing practices, has been told to change its ways. Courts are being told to consider alternatives before issuing repossession orders.

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