Dr MI Barton MA. MBA, Oxford, UK - what? Or rather - what is you print and does it have anything to do with the article printed above? Please tell me that Oxford is only your home address and not your alma mater.

KR, Stockport,

I'm unconvinced by the stated 'need' for private equity managers to receive quite enormous compensation for their deals, virtually tax free. My question is how much net of tax do they need to keep them in the UK and is it as much as they presently get? Do we have nothing to offer these people except a low tax rate? I have absolutely no difficulty with the idea that they should earn whatever it takes to retain their services, but I don't think they should be getting any kind of special deal on tax relative to those who earn salaries. I can see the attraction to GB of having UK companies revamped with minimal political pain. No doubt it needs doing. But do we need to breach the rules of tax equity to do it? Does GB not think he will receive an electoral invoice for this?

Colin Forbes, Shrewsbury,

Kaletsky is wrong: Immigration is the number 1 worry for the British.

Brown will be finished if he fails to have a referendum on the EU to return it to a Common Market - or we leave.

R.Wilson, London,

I was very pleased with Gordon Brown's first appearance at PMQs. His straightforward and honest approach is refreshing, and the fact he did not try to emulate his predecessor in any way was welcome. After an excellent first week in office, Mr Brown's performance was no nonsense and clear - something the British public are definitely warming to and appreciative of. A very promising start.

Steve Tarbet, Cardiff, Wales

So Brown is going to pick a fight with the EU. He is regarded with suspicion in Washington. Without either the UK is meaningles without both it's a joke.
I recommend looking at last week's Economist. It has a chart showing how home owndership has now reached the same level of household spending burden as in 1990. Is there a black, black cloud coming over the horizon?
Brown has been a poor, poor chancellor - but a lucky one. As PM his luck is running out already.

eddie reader, birmingham, uk

phillipa is right to say that the next big issue will be the state pension
. you cannot pay single mothers, the idle and feckless to do nothing or even have a comprehensive welfare system and pay future state pensions in the future.
i predict the welfare state will be cut back radically over the next decade.
this will have profound implications. crime, prostitution. greater family breakdown and a very nasty society will emerge.
the rich will live in gated high security areas and the rest will be left to fight for the pickings in a very liberal economy
i think this is inevitable given the forces of globalisation and rapid technological advance.
what are your thoughts

adrian o'doherty, telford, great britian

Gordon Brown is pro big-business (especially foreign-owned multinationals), and anti small-business - probably because it's difficult to track the thousands of small companies out there.

This was most starkly brought home by his final budget (although each of the 9 preceding budgets also hit small business in some way), which lowered the corporation tax rate for big companies, and raised it for small companies to take up the slack. Small companies are already struggling under a ton of heavyweight new legislation (most of which is designed with big business in mind) and punitive local & national taxation.

Unfortunately for Brown - most of the UK workforce is employed by small businesses. Small businesses are the lifeblood of the economy. And, of course, some small businesses will eventually become big businesses...

Labour, pro business? Don't make me laugh.

Ade, Wallasey, UK

I have huge respect for Mr Kaletsky's views, but I would say that, as a property developer, steadily watching the impending arrival of the Planning Gain Supplement, I would have to completely disagree with Mr Browns pro-business credentials. His new proposed tax on land will be enough to harm the property industry in the same way as his relief changes harmed the pensions industry for a generation. It will lead to less available land, less development, less jobs and higher house prices particularly affecting first time buyers. Its going to be a disaster and there doesn't seem to be a single industry group willing to say it will do anything other than cause long term harm.

Ben Leefield MRICS, Oxford, UK

"Does that mean that he will instead raise taxes on those of us who cannot easily go elsewhere"

Well, duuuh!!!

neil murphy, cromer,

Mr Brown has been planning his coronation to the role of PM for many years. He has a team of bright people to help him in these endeavours. His moves ove rthe last week or so have been carefully planned tactical moves to create a certain image - no change here from the last decade. Mr Brown's underlying strategy will have changed not one jot - his is an unrecontracted Marxist with the rightness of State control over all aspects of our lives the very living marrow of his bones. I fo one, am not going to be so easily persuading by some eye-catching tactical moves - have you forgotten the standard fare of Blair's tactics so quickly?

Harry, Maidenhead,

Hmm - pmq - both Cameron and Campbell made him look foolish.

Interest rates up yet again due primarialy to his own vast borrowing and expenditure.

He has also begun with a solid week of the greatest lie of all - that he had nothing to do with the last ten years of control freakery overtaxation, uncontrolled spending and spin.

Edward Andrew Green, Upminster, England

But will the Labour left stay supine for ever? They were hoping that Brown would be their hero. As for the most pressing matter facing this country, it is obviously immigration which is running at unsustainable levels. Has Brown the mettle to tackle this issue? I very much doubt it!

Richard, Kidderminster, England

I would personally like to see the annuity trap removed and expect the government to adhere to good housekeeping rules so removing the nervous requirement to maintain a vast demand for cheap borrowing via gilts - the only logical reason for the annuity trap!
If there is a requirement for more money use the income tax system, the only equitable method, and stop the tortuous sneaky methodologies employed so far in this governments run!
All the other obvious things as well of course

Jim Golightly, Prudhoe, England

I hope he now calls a referendum, as AK moots, especially as a leading trade union has called upon him to do so.

However, the referendum should not be on this Treaty - go and try again, the EU will say when we reject it - but on our membership of the EU.

If he doesn't, he will deserve to be trounced at the next general election. By then the economy which he was in charge of over the past ten years will be beginning to unravel anyway.

wilson, London, UK

Steve H -

Yes. Spot on. But do you think he will?

Michael Bruce, Selby, Yorkshire

In the article, it is stated that Brown will not raise taxes on people who do business here because he is well aware that they can go elsewhere.
Does that mean that he will instead raise taxes on those of us who cannot easily go elsewhere.

tony, birmingham, uk

I agree, Brown has Sarkozy over a barrel in that he can threaten a UK referendum if he doesn't get what he wants. But the biggest political issue is not Iraq - that's just the treacherous excuse useful idiots are giving to these terrorists. The biggest political and economic issue is the funding of state sector pensions and whether we are going to dishonour those pledges or cut something else to afford them.

Philippa Pirie, London, England

I hope he now calls a referendum, as AK moots, especially as a leading trade union has called upon him to do so.

However, the referendum should not be on this Treaty - go and try again, the EU will say when we reject it - but on our membership of the EU.

If he doesn't, he will deserve to be trounced at the next general election. By then the economy which he was in charge of over the past ten years will be beginning to unravel anyway.

wilson, London, UK

so do we get back the 10% band

geoff, stafford, england ,

Mr. Brown's first PMQ was excellent. Honest and without the confrontational approach asociated with previous PMs.

Robert, London, UK

Except for his first PMQ performance which was dreadful

COLIN , Hong Kong,

The steady growth of the British economy in the past ten years has been Gordon Brown's greatest achievement as Chancellor, has it? Can Anatole Kaletsky explain how Mr Brown wrought this miracle? The longest period of continuous quarterly economic growth had begun long before he walked into 11 Downing Street. He unnecessarily sold off Britain's gold reserves at the Brown bottom, losing £2bn. He has lumbered future taxpayers with billions of PFI debt. He has overseen the loss of a million manufacturing jobs. He has lamentably failed to control public spending waste. And so on, and so on.

Mr Brown had the good fortune to be in office during the steady growth of the British economy over the past ten years. There is a difference between being there and being responsible. But the distinction appears lost on Mr Kaletsky.

Ray Burke, Stockport, England

Why should anyone stop using the word "Muslim" when describing terrorism?? How about using "Islamic" instead?

Brown is off to a good start trying to disassociate Islam from terror, but as much as he would like to make us forget, we all know who the terrorist are and what religion they practice.

Scott, Durham, NC, USA

If Brown offers the voters a referendum on Europe, and backs the No side, Labour will have converted this Tory.

steve h, cardiff,

Debating nukes as MAD & NFF would leave us dead and even destroys deterant.
Giving more power to the Nolan Millionaires without the electorate is bad. The Parliamentary Labour party is not the electorate and little better than the Cabinet.
What is the executive?

Dr MI Barton MA. MBA, Oxford, UK