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  You are right Roger but its more than just that. His banking regulation changes went a lot further in removing the oversight of the Bank of England enabling the banks more commercial freedom that, on one hand can boost profits, but with the price of increased risk exposure. As I have always said risk and reward are closely linked.
  
  In addition Brown got the inflation brief wrong for the Bank of England and in so doing caused the massive credit and housing bubble. The increase in private indebtedness was a disaster as soon as the economy started to slow.
  
  Then he discouraged savings in favour of borrowing. The impact of reducing the amount of tax-free saving people could do along with reduced tax benefits from saving. Add that to interest rates kept too low for too long thanks to his inflation brief. People without savings turn more to borrowing making the debt bubble even worse and leaving them even more vulnerable to the downturn.
  
  Let us not forget the uncontrolled public spending since 2001. His massive spending increases was at the cost of higher borrowing at the time when he should have been repaying debt. After all, when do you repay borrowing? you can't do it when the economy gets worse so it has to be done when the economy booms and during that long boom Brown just went borrowing more and more.
  
  The above all contributed to the UK being in an appallingly weak position at the start of the slowdown, lengthening it and deepening it.
  
  Then there are all the other 'mistakes' he made. Over pensions (a disaster) over the sale of gold, over his taxation policies (including the 10p fiasco).
  
  He must have been the worse Chancellor in British history. At least he kept us out of the Euro.

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