I am in Total agreement with Martin Samuel. It is unfortunate that it takes a financial crisis to remove a Cretin Government which is destroying Great Britain through a mixture of incompetence and unbelievable ignorance.

AJT. Living in France...Not coming back!

A.J.Tonkin, Mirambeau., France

this is one of the most impressively written articles i've read on the subject in a while!

Sarah, london, london

Could not agree more.

As for football, how clubs (and Wembley) can get away with charging such extortionate amounts for tickets, especially with the amount of TV revenue they receive, is one of the biggest frauds perpetrated against the public of the modern era.

And as for the mark-up of food and drink prices in cinemas and stadia around the country - can someone please explain how a coke and a pot of minstrels can come to over £5? Absolute daylight robbery, please can everyone stop paying and stop these companies getting away with this.

Josh, London,

Are you on the money, or are you on the MONEY!

Well done on a super article. Proof is in the pudding these days, which in essence means, speak the peoples language and they will speak back! In thier droves.

You have embodied and inable nation of people to say what was starved of us for years!!!

I am from Wales, and used to cringe when out with my Dad when he would look with an expression that could kill when he had to pay anymore than 70p for a cup of coffee. However, my Dad was also from the save now spend later generation, where money meant something. So this article comes as great saying for people like my Dad and good teaching for people like me, whom would justify the spend of £2.00 on a cuppa!

Well done once again!

Kieran Lee Marshall, Kensington & Chelsea, London, United Kingdom

JC Bellour, Tucson, Arizona....

Fair enough but remember your wages are HALF of what we earn in the UK.

My half sister lived in Tuscon up until recently and has moved back with our parents in Kentucky. She earns $8 an hour in a pharmacy (thats less than £4) and she has health insurance to pay for.

Not everything is rosy in the USA. I am sick of people living in the USA thinking they are the land of milk and honey. Well you are not.

My mum lives in Kentucky and I am just as sick of hear bleating on about the UK's downfalls whilst still holding on to her UK citizenship and being an 'alien' in the US. If the US is that great, why are the wages so bad?

Oh and you don't even get benefits until you are on a 40 hour contract!! No holidays, no sick pay... yeah, the US have it sooo much better than the UK. I think not.

Eve, Gloucester, UK

Excellent article. Booked some train tickets today.
1.) There is a 50p charge for picking up the tickets at the train station from a self-service kiosk. What exactly are my other options? There are none that are free. I am the actor in this process that picks up the ticket, why on earth should I pay for this?
2.) There is a 50p charge for using my visa debit (not credit) card. I am confused, why dont they just charge more? How about a 10gbp fee? Why not? We have relatively few alternatives.

It seems to me that if any of these train companies/management companies see a funding gap in their budget they just throw on some random levies.

In fact, I think they should just go ahead and really put the pedal to the metal: a 50% value of the ticekt fee to cover transaction costs and ticket printing. Why not? There are few alternatives.

Steve, London,

Your article is smack on the button - and is precisely why I emigrated last year - FOR GOOD, I have countless examples of events since then which prove my decision was correct. Rip Off Britain is going to suffer very badly and I feel so sorry for those unable to leave soon.

TIM SANDERS, GROS MORNE, Martinique French West Indies

A view from the Czech Republic. My bank fined me roughly ten pounds for overpaying the monthly payment on a loan. When I spoke to my personal banker about it she agreed it was ludicrous but the system in place.

Steve, Prague, Czech

Excellent article. I hope many read and take the comments and observations on board! What a country...

Chris, Prudhoe, UK

unemployment is not decreasing because people over 50 are giving up looking for work and have to lve off their personal pensions they were duped into taking out the statistics show the rate is falling but the workforce is dropping.these people are now on a small fixed income and theabove average increases in bills hit them hardest

rob, spreyton devon, uk

A superb article.
If only we could have more frankness such as this.
Most of us have no voice.We rely on journalists to characterise just how utterly shambolic the British economy really is...ie It has no substance what-so-ever.

antony Graham, southport, England

Nothing to do with Labour govt, jusy to do with economic cycles, be thankful its not boom and bust anymore, it took a labour govt to make the Bank of England independent, and that will always be our saving grace, making the troughs less deep and the highs less peaky.

Do your economics homework and you'll understand.

James

Perce, london,

my old man fought the Germans and Japanese,he was at Dunkirk and also in the desert, he used to say, forty years ago that the country is going to the dogs,I never believed him,History may in the end prove him right but look how he lived and look how now we live,he struggled all his life,we have not had half the struggle he had.We have all mod cons,we do not have to walk three miles for dirty water,it comes in taps,we have electricity and light, we drive cars and sit in comparative comfort, there is little or no shortage of food, and yet we complain,were we built of sterner stuff years ago, we now have a NHS service, some people knock it,but they are wrong, try being ill in another country and you will see the difference.the average person in England has a lot more than two thirds of the people in the World and yet we still complain,its a shame, and the shame is on us.

Dennis Higgins, Worcester, Uk

At last some sanity! This is the best thing I've read on the economy. I'm just amazed its gone on for as long as it has.

Colin, Telford,

WOW, and I thought Australia had problems .Will I visit my relatives there ...ah not if I can help it a warning for my fellow Australians?

Genevieve, Sydney, Australia

Well, I suppose I should not complain - - my country, the good ole' U.S.of A. has obviously done something so stupid that our dollar is worth precious little. I think of Britain ....and I cry - I so very much want to visit again, but that is quite out of the question for me as my dollar is now worth about half your pound and your pound no longer goes near what it once did. The last time over was in 71', when the shoe was on the proverbial "other foot". Air fare paid, hired car paid, and $2000 in traveler's checks - I toured for 3 weeks in total comfort and glee! L2.20 was a night and splendid breakfast at a quaint pub-inn. I'm afraid that it is all gone now, and with it my hopes of ever returning. I can only hope that November's election serves to create a rippling financial revival of some sort, and that trade, world economies can bend some so as to increase my chances of a May day in the Cotswolds.

Joan, Asheville, North Carolina

ian, just to clear things up we didn't vote for Blair either, nor did we have any say in who runs the government departments. we did however vote for the labour party to run the country on our behalf.

kj, London, UK

A very real if disturbing view on the way the economy is going. I often wonder if anyone has noticed that this 'credit crunch' caused by overlending is actually a mirror image of the governments bank balance. Did nobody see that the banks were just copying government policy, buy now pay later! One thing is for sure we will be paying for the over indulgence for many years to come.

Julian B, Manchester,

Don't be so sure of your predictions. In post-sub-prime America, I just paid US$7 for one small bottle of beer at an airport bar...

SteveP, London,

Come to Denmark!. A cup of coffee is close to 7$.. A decent glass of wine is close to 9 quid. Oh, and cars are double the price .

Peter Fox , Copenhagen, Denmark

> Can we have our car firms back?
> Can we stop Chinese and Japanese imports?

> Dennis Higgins, Worcester, Uk

all of the above AGH (aint gonna happen)

why?

post empirical decline (happens to ALL empires).
BRIC/emerging economies waking up to the fact that most resources are on their own doorstep, able to 'play the same economic game'.
highly educated workforces geared for the knowledge economy, too late for us to catch up (blame our lack of spending to re-educate our own citizens post manufacturing decline).

> are the Chinese and Japanese nations destorying the Worlds > Oceans?

btw, most of the pollution has been caused by our western/industrialised nations over the past couple
hundred years

Tom, Nottm,

What, and the US isn't expensive???
Any of the big US cities I've visited seem to be at least in line with Paris prices (save a few electical gizmos) if not higher. I wouldn't call that cheap.

Almost all international comparisons of countries (including the most reputable of all: the OECD) show that the UK's purchasing power per capita has increased over the last 10 years more than in any other major industrialised country.
BELIEVE me, people in France are also moaning big-time about purchasing-power here and from what I hear the American middle-classes have hardly been having a pleasant time of late either!!!
Maybe some of what you describe is correct but hardly only specific to the UK.

Rob, Paris, France

this is the story of a car driver who has no idea how to park a car or have any knowledge of congestion charges (pollution Charge)
spends £2 on coffee and £1.60 on a bottle of water and supports a football team who pays their players too much money and eats cheese sandwichs which are bad for him while driving a Lexus built in Japan and eats expensive chinese meals and you talk of Economy?
Can we have our car firms back?
Can we stop Chinese and Japanese imports?
are the Chinese and Japanese nations destorying the Worlds Oceans?
Talk About Economy.but get the facts right first,should we be driving cars anyway.perhaps it time to say get on your bike.
We used to say English car builders took too much in wages but just look at what everyone wants in this country a BMW?

Dennis Higgins, Worcester, Uk

The British complain about the prices of cars. In the Republic of Ireland, cars are approx. 50% dearer than in the UK.

neil, waterford, ireland

What everyone fails to see is the pollution caused by this mans car, lets be fair if we keep driving cars like we are doing then along with the many planes up in the air both destroying our Ozone layers then it matters not if you might have to pay thru the nose,it may cost more than that in the end and then money will not help anybody,least of all you Martin? or those people sitting in another country spitting at Great Britain,if all of you think that the price of petrol is too high, wait until we run out of it,and then you can all park your cars anywhere.We have more to worry about than the Economy. Anyway one stop of Chinese inports would probably balance the books.

Dennis Higgins, Worcester, Uk

Couldn't agree more; the UK's future has been mortgaged to the hilt primarily by Gordon Brown. Real world inflation must be running at over 20% for most of us now.
By what twisted rationale could a reason be found for taxing insurance (car, home) ? Punishing those who have taken personal responsibility ?

Wilson, Edinburgh, Scotland

Do you really think it is better anywhere else? Starbucks charge $4.00 (2 pounds) for coffee in Vancouver; parking, when you can find it, is unaffordable; Ticketmaster charges admin. fees on tickets to games, shows, etc. ...the list goes on.

J. MacGillivray, Vancouver, Canada

It doesn't matter who's in power this always happens to the economy... it cycles and corrects itself. Right now we're heading for a CORRECTION and that means for a few years a good few people might not be able to hammer the plastic and take out re-mortgages to fund their insane shopping spees.

Didn't this happen a few years ago when the conservatives were in power? What happend? It corrected itself and voila we've had a great few years of cheap cash.

Just like the climate the economy moves in cycles. TIghten your belts and in a few years we'll all have forgotten this until the next time.

Luke Faichney, Robin Hood's Bay, North Yorkshire

Great article.
I lived a very pleasant and privileged life in London till I was 30, then being entrepreneurial and fed up with the negative attitudes of UK & EU business I moved to L.A - in the Hollywood Hills, peace, quiet, pool, sunshine. My family also ended up on the west coast.The KEY here is quality of life, or basic LACK THEREOF and the ability to find a work / living balance. My friends in banking here are all a wreak, I have many British friends in LA - NONE will ever move back to the UK, I visit 4 to 5 times a year (which is always short, therefore, enjoyable) and I could have written this article 5 years ago, meantime all the good guys who can afford it are leaving, and what is filling the gap?? Parking? how about 2 hrs FREE on Rodeo Drive - try that in Croydon with the parking army. No clamps & towed once in 8 yrs. Cars, petrol & everyday essentials are cheap. The grass is sometimes greener. The system here is loaded against you. Be brave and escape!! $2 to the £!!

Nicholas, LA & London, USA / UK

How about this then.I once worked in the "golfing industry"and we supplied electric sit-on golf carts for £999.
We purchased them for £750 from a supplier who paid £500 for them.We discovered this particular supplier purchased them for £250.From what we could work out they were bought from the Chinese factory originally for around £150 and sold on for the aforementioned £250.The Chinese were happy with their £150 ,and they eventually passed through various hands to end up on the market for £999.Yes of course we all had overheads to pay,but there are probably hundreds of golfers riding around on these carts that paid £999 for them,without realising that the Chinese manufactured them for under £100.

Mike, Dunstable, England

Martin, an eloquent anaylysis of the stasi-inspired state machinery that uses motoring as a back-door tax.
The bigger shame is that we have become a docile infantry, a bunch of patsies allowing the state to erode what is, by any measure, a reasonable freedom of movement.
Every yard of roadspace is now lined, marked, speed-humped, waiting for the unwary to infringe some petty regulation.
One of the perks of growing older is the right to say 'things have got worse since I were t'lad'. But I am in no doubt that the freedoms of the citizenry have been traduced by Labour. It has turned this country into an over-regulated mire of petty rules and their armies of enforcers.
On the subject of prices over here, Apple has just launched its video-on-demand Apple TV. In the US the prices start at $229. No prizes for guessing what the price will be in the UK, where of course we can still buy two dollars for one of our pounds.

paul rickard, kingston,

If you don't like the price of the coffee - don't buy it.
If you don't like the price of bottled water - don't buy it.
If you don't like the price of a download track - don't buy it.

These are not essentials, the worry is the things that people have no control over.

If you don't like your council tax bill - tough
If you don't like your utility prices - tough
If you don't like travel costs - tough

People need to realise that it is consumer spending that determines whether or how hard a recession is. If people clamp up and don't spend, it will be a hard recession.

Andrew, Peterborough, UK

to all those moaning minnies out there,if you live in another country mind your own business,what a man in London being stupid and not knowing how to park is car has to do with the running of a country I do not know,what is wrong anyway,have you not made a fortune selling your property in this country,to all those people moaning about our country when they live in another, stay there, lets hope they don't have a war and you all coming running back, saying you are British, when clearly you are not.,how many of you have kept your British passport?

Dennis Higgins, Worcester, Uk

Just become a 'Refuse-nik' (and I don't mean someone who nicks the garbage!) Make a fuss, anywhere, all the time, shout, challenge, refuse. Don't be aggressive with the 'little guys' as they don't deserve that, but speak the Truth. Educate people and insist that they wake up. e.g. After hanging on, hanging on, hanging on the phone to my back to ask a question about an ISA, being given totally the wrong information, then hanging on, hanging on, hanging on the phone to put it right .... I asked to be put through to 'Complaints'. They apologised and paid me more than the cost of the phone call in compensation. I also challenged them about a number of other issues. Wherever possible, point out the obvious, help others to WAKE UP. If employees of Kafka-esque systems simply woke up and quit (maybe like the BA staff on the terminal T5 fiasco?) we would quickly see who really has the power. I have contested 3 unjustified parking tickets, one all the way to court, and have won every time......

Melanie Reinhart, Old Warden, UK

Labour are making this country a miserable place to live and we are too heavily taxed. Labour’s reckless tax and spend policies have made this country’s cost of living too high, and reduced our standard of living. When you’ve paid your income tax, NI, council tax, road tax, fuel tax, parking charges, congestion charges, parking fines, alcohol taxes, your mortgage, your household bills, your shopping, and you realise that you have no money left, it dawns on you how badly we are being ripped off by this Labour government and their extortionate taxes.
Everywhere you go there is CCTV nowadays and you feel like you are being watched at all times with Labour trying to find some other way of squeezing a tax or a fine out of you. Labour with their plans for ID cards and road pricing satellite tracking devices in every car are trying to make this country into an Orwellian tax nightmare.
I'm furious, I’ve never really been a Conservative voter, but now I’m a true Cameron supporter...

Danny, Basildon, Essex,

A good read spoiled by snarky comments from ex-pats in the U.S. seemingly unaware that much of what was said also applies to them. There's a whirlwind heading your way too, you lucky people, and when you consider how the average American now earns less every month than the average Brit, and has a lifestyle bankrolled almost exclusively by the Chinese, the only thing you can snigger about is cheaper gas - and the clock's ticking there too. We've ALL gotten fat and lazy and will soon be paying the price.

Philip, London, England

Last week my 90 year old father had a fall at home in the morning. His doctor had visited him at home by lunchtime. She spent about 45 minutes checking him out. Told him to phone the next day if he felt at all worried. Said she would return next week to check him out again. No cost to him of course.

Rip off. I think not.

FR, Basingstoke, UK

I agree whole heartedly with the sentiments of Martin's piece. I don't know where the Prime Minister and his puppet Chancellor get this idea about inflation figures from, but where I live (Herts/Essex borders) food and petrol prices have rocketed these last 12 months, never mind gas/electric.

I am 52 and can remember the Labour government of the 1960's - they were a shambles then and this government are following them down that path, and there is no way after nearly 11 years of this Labour government (forget the "new" bit and think "wolf in sheep's clothing" they can try and blame other political parties/influence in the UK.

In my opinion Brown should have gone to the country within a few months of taking over from Blair, to get his own mandate - he prevaricated last Autumn and showed, to me, he is not fit to lead.

I hope I don't come across as a "Mr Middle Aged Angry" as I' m not (well, don't think I am !) - I just hate seein this country going to the dogs

John, Sawbridgeworth, Hertfordshire

There is a really depressing BT ad which says something like "I spend my free time spending money". It is very easy to do this in this country. But rather than moaning about it, *think*. At the airport when the security monkey says 'your hand-luggage is overweight' take things out and put them in your jacket pockets. You can avoid being rolled over for all you're worth, but you have to be smart - ripoff Britain is a tax on the non-smart ones.

Mat, Brighton,

You're right of course. If you make prosecution profitable, then people will be prosecuted by the million - ask Ken Livingston. There are "speed" cameras in this country that have to be turned-off periodically because the courts can't cope with the volume of cheques.
Still, if we allow our "servants" to lecture us, impose their prejudices on us, and steal our money with impunity, we deserve all we get.
Londonia / Londonistan (so good they named it twice) seems to be getting it particularly hard at the moment, but it won't be long before this stuff is exported to the (almost vanished) country once know as Great Britain.

Ken Leyland, Liverpool, U.K.

Great article. I, too, have had my fill of being ripped off everywhere I look, and all on top of money that's already been taxed at more than 40%.

I want value for my money from now. I want incentives, carrot not stick.

I voted these buggers into government twice. Twice!

Not again.

Craig, Hove,

I just love all these postings from expatriates claiming the moral high ground when we all know they're mainly tax dodgers. Don't they realise that by opting out they've forfeited the right to make all these negative comments? Why don't they throw in their lot with the country where they're residing, pay that country's taxes, learn the language, get involved with Spanish or Argentinian politics, or wherever, and stop, please stop, whining about our country?

William, London,

Well your man in paragraph number one may be rich, but he is also stupid. Has he never heard of taxis?

What a silly editorial.

Bill Willard, London, UK

This article & the replies are in a nutshell, why we are in trouble. Mr Samuel's overall point about affordability is spot on. But while Brown bears some responsibilty selling gold is not the reason why parking tickets are expensive.
We've all been greedy and we're all going to pay for it. Just like lazy car drivers. Those who think they'll be escaping it by going abroad are deluded. Bear Sterns is a US bank. Sub-prime is largely US. The state of the US finances are awlful. The only issue is which economies will suffer the most.
Fact is we've collectivley loaded up on credit and we're now in the position of N Rock - the cost of that credit is going to go through the roof. Didn't hear people complaining about politicians when they were making huge gains on property.
And so it comes to self-interest. We chased the money when it was there because we felt we deserved it. Now, rather than deal with the consequences of our own collective action lets blame Brown. We get what we deserve.

Steve, London, UK

Absolutely spot on ... Micheal Douglas falling down ! ... the Council tax is my fav , i only live in uk 6 months a year , i am single only get 25% discount i put 2 bags of rubbish out last week and the bin man refused the last bag saying i have been leaving too many bags out? i told him over the last 12 month period he's picked up my rubbish 24 times only ! ... and i'm still paying for a naff service which i end up taking my own rubbish to the dump, then i have a letter from TV licensing telling me i need to pay for a service i don't even use , wanting my money in advance, i get taxed to move house for no reason, i get green taxed on anything remotely related to a green issue , the place has gone absolutely mad... underage drinkers ...oh lets put up tax !!! what a load of rubbish half the beer drank on street corners is stolen from the local Co op !! its just a big fat economic lie of which the FSA let lenders give money out and rogue salesmen loose ...

petejones , leeds, leeds

"This is why Gordon Brown is in trouble."

Martin! Wake up! Gordon Brown is not in trouble. He's doing just fine, thank, you...He's set for life!

IT IS BRITAIN THAT IS IN TROUBLE!

Deep trouble.

Garth Rex, Glendale Heights, USA

While I love being retired here in sunny Spain, I urge you all not to emigrate until you have sorted out the major political problems you have there. Be brave and vote in those who have the true written policies you believe will solve all the problems. Do not vote for a just a Party but for a person you may know who will not only do what they say, but is there for you to shout at if she/he does not.

I forecast 15 years ago that Labour's - GB's policies, like most Labour tax and spend (waste) have been since the mid-1950s and I hate being right, would be disastrous aswe are finding out now.

Write letters or send emails to your MP to demand the right action is taken (even if it breaks human rights silly laws (change them).

Blair was a good speaker but a bad manager as we can now see.

No, stay there until the problems are solved or your State pension will still be the worst in western Europe. Be a doer, not a moaner

B J Deller, Marbella, Spain

This obsession with Brown's selling of the gold reserves is a bit odd coming now, years after the event. If the Tories were so prescient at predicting gold price movements, why didn't they raise the issue at the time? This is simply an attempt by John Major to whitewash his own disastrous running of the economy in the 90s (yes, Major was the first Tory to mention this, a few months ago). The grossly exaggerated calculations over the gold sale conveniently leave out the savings in interest payments to service the national debt, which Brown paid off as a result of the sale. Paying off debt during the good times - isn't that the sign of a prescient and prudent chancellor?

Wilf, London,

This is why I emigrated. See you all in 2010, after the next general election.

Alex, Buenos Aires,

Nicolas, it's not a question of being "brave" and escaping, some of us want to stay here. Tomorrow I travel to the US for the 10th time in 20 months and I can tell you, i have absolutely no desire to stay there. That doesm't mean i don't like the place, i have seen many cities in the US and i like some, love others, but dislike none. I just don't want to live there.

Bye the way, 45 years old, driving since i was 17, never clamped, never towed. The reason Martin's mate got done is because he knew he could afford to and took a risk, but got caught out.

Now all that said, i did happen to agree with almost every word he wrote. The biggest problem here is that we pay 1 in 10 people to stay in bed, and we pay 1 in 5 to do internal jobs like taking my money away from me and giving it to those who don't rise in a morning. I do happen to think that long term, the place is in for a rough ride and a rude awakening. But it's still a better option than where you are. Have a nice day.

Mark, Birmingham,

the sale of half of uk gold reserves--@265 is a show stopper.hope someone with a gold bar follows gord around during the next election

heres another for us scots-- T5

FSB Scotland's Policy spokesman, Andy Willox, said: "It is an open secret that flights to and from Scotland are the first to be scrapped in order to clear the backlog and handle more lucrative international flights."

SO THATS WHY SO MANY SCOTS ARE STILL IN LONDON


great article MS---most of us here in scotland are feeling the pinch(fuel hurting badly)---unlike speaker of commons gorbals mick

david stuart, edinburgh, scotland

You're right, motorway services are one of the chief culprits, I've seen coffee for over £3 and it still tastes like dish water. They tell us inflation is 2.5%, complete rubbish, for the average household real inflation is probably between 10 and 15%. The cost of gas and electricity, petrol and diesel have all shot through the roof while Mr Browns been running the economy. There's a hard landing coming for the economy but he puts up taxes! he should be worried.

Patrick Henderson, Coventry,

I'm an American with an English wife. We live in Arizona, but visit her family in Lincolnshire once or twice a year. I've seen the economic changes going on (albeit as an outsider) which the article discusses

I've always loved my visits to GB (and have a wife to prove it!), but the changes to the society have made our visits less enjoyable. I have no idea how the middle class can hold on. Several US Cities are losing their middle class residents - NY, San Francisco, LA, etc. They either move to less expensive cities or they simply watch their life style go down the toilet.

But moving is not as easy in GB as London is such a dominating city in that economy.

I still love our English visits, but I'm glad I have in-laws to stay with!

Today in Tucson, Arizona: 29 degrees C, petrol is about $3 per gallon (say, sterling 1.50 per liter), a Starbuck's coffee is $1.35, and I haven't had a parking violation in 3 years.

JC Bellour, Tucson, Arizona

In the so called economic boom lots of peole were still earning average wages - the police, teachers, nurses - and could not cope. Labour kept on being reelected and the Tory manifesto does not include any thing that will lead to the congestion charge being reduced or things like fines being more reasonable. The sorry truth is that democracy in Britain is a sham, with a first past the post system that places stability over and above a proper reflection of the vote. Ordinary English people prefer to plod on without asking for or believing that radical change is required or possible. Why is the UK supposedly so mych better of than the France and yet the French family feels wealthier?

mark, ibrag, Malta

Having moved here from the USA eight years ago, I have watched this country rip people off so badly, and it's just got worse. He's right. People here, for too long, have accepted this, but it's all coming to an end. What are they going to do when people start massively defaulting on their council tax?

Krista, Porlock, England

I've been living in the UK for 10 years and the first thing I noticed when I arrived is that the British will swallow just about anything the government / private sector will dish out to them. Talk about easy pickings for the cats that want to get fat.

Don't you realise that as a group of consumers we have the collective power to enforce change, be it economic or political? C'mon Britons, stand up for yourselves!!!! Refuse to pay the higher prices, don't accept that laughable thing they call customer service, lodge your complaints - AND - use your vote.

Looks like Gordon Brown is goin' down.

P.S. I liked the one about the washing up liquid - well done for complaining.

MWA, Kent,

Spot on, Martin, old boy, spot on! The price of a coffee is a sure sign from heaven that we're doomed, all doomed. And it's all that Scotsman Brown's fault. Those ten years of high employment and economic boom, they were just an illusion, I tell you. Just like the so-called Moon landings. Bring back Shirley Williams and price controls. That's what Britain needs now. A good dose of Shirley Williams. Aaah. Sorry, where was I? Oh yes, the price of a coffee. Doomed I say.

Benjamin, London,

We're doomed- DOOMED! Captain Mainwaring!!!

Keith, Newcastle, UK

Great article.
I lived a very pleasant and privileged life in London till I was 30, then being entrepreneurial and fed up with the negative attitudes of UK & EU business I moved to L.A - in the Hollywood Hills, peace, quiet, pool, sunshine. My family also ended up on the west coast.The KEY here is quality of life, or basic LACK THEREOF and the ability to find a work / living balance. My friends in banking here are all a wreak, I have many British friends in LA - NONE will ever move back to the UK, I visit 4 to 5 times a year (which is always short, therefore, enjoyable) and I could have written this article 5 years ago, meantime all the good guys who can afford it are leaving, and what is filling the gap?? Parking? how about 2 hrs FREE on Rodeo Drive - try that in Croydon with the parking army. No clamps & towed once in 8 yrs. Cars, petrol & everyday essentials are cheap. The grass is sometimes greener. The system here is simply loaded against you. Be brave and escape!! $2 to the £!!

Nicholas, LA & London, USA / UK

Good article, and has inspired noteworthy comments from the readers.

One correction - £2 for coffee? Well its £2 for frothy milk with a dash of coffee; an even bigger rip off. Everyone complains about oil at over $100 barrel...what about the equivalent per barrel cost of forthy milk. A dash of substance hidden in a great deal of froth? - this sums up the Labour govt. over the past 10 years.

Agree with readers on quality...we are seemingly satisfied with mediocre service and quality...customer services, building work, restaurant staff. Are us British not bothered by lack of quality or have those who do just given up caring.

Finally, the BOE is lucky that so many of these extra costs discussed e.g. council tax don't figure in their basket...CPI doesn't show the real inflation that many in Britain are faced with...only matching certain segments of society..people perhaps in their early twenties who large expenses focus on gadgets and electronics, which are some of the only baskets that are falling or stabilised over recent years.

Andy, London,

I agree wholeheartedly. But maybe you ran out of space because you forgot to mention that the billions he's ripped out of the economy (pensions and the hundreds of other stealth taxes - and in this I include the so-called "green" taxes) has been utterly, completely and irrevocably wasted. Billions on the health service for no return or improvement; billions in the education system for no improvement, billions in the Revenue service, ID cards... the list just goes on and on. The cost - just to run his appalling bureaucracy is now up to 43% of GDP. Maybe that's why Sarkozy thinks he's such a "great chancellor": Brown's kind of mickey mouse economics go down a storm in Europe.

Mike , Weymouth, Dorset

Well done, Martin, what you say is so true. This country has been living in Fairyland for the last decade. The problem is that everything is based on property prices. The reason why your coffe costs £2 is that Starbucks is paying a king's ransom for a high street location and eye-popping business rates also. Ditto Nero's and the cost of your sip of water. And the people who clamp your car need to live somewhere so they charge you £100 so that they can buy a box (lots of potential, naturally) in some grotty part of London. The people who think that rising property prices are a good thing are nuts. Property inflation feeds through to everything you buy, luxuries and necessities both. The quicker we see a property crash the quicker the grotesque fairyland we are forced to live in will come to an end. It will be painful but so, so worth it in the long term.

Philip, Cheltenham, Gloucestershire

Yes Brown sold Britain's gold to buy Euros and that is why he is determined to devalue Sterling to parity with the Euro to say that he got a good deal. Of course we will all get much poorer in the process - except the BTL investors whose debts will diminish in value - and have to live with much higher prices for food and fuel, living as we do in a country that is dependent on imports. Things can only get better when Brown is got rid of.

Paul, Coventry,

You are spot on, we have taken it all without so much as a whimper. One of the most extraordinary rip-off's of all time is the so called "subscription service" run by mobile phone operators. You respond to an ad thinking that you are buying a ringtone and hey presto, you become a member of a "subscription service" which allows the operator to visit your call credit at regular intervals and remove money with no obligation to provide anything of value in return. And nobody can do anything about this widespread scam. We are a soft touch, just entities to be hit on by every smart ass con-man to have our hard earned cash siphoned off. And of course you are right, as things tighten up the govenrment will take the hit, and rightly so.

Jim O'Sullivan, Sligo, Ireland

Alice of Hove, they already charge us for the air we breathe -- under the guise of green tax! And as to the story about the local Chinese take away,...well, let me tell you about mine: they include a tip in your bill under the label, "service charge"; and to think I was brought up to believe that tips were something you earned when you offered brilliant service. No more, it seems! Nothing will change until we begin protesting but something tells me that is not going to happen. We are better at whinging, so, all ye "Capitalists", please carry on!

Annie, Cambridge, UK

It's all the little things which add up: many of those 'providing services' are forever looking for ways to charge additionally for things which have hitherto been seen as an integral part of that service. Hence Ryanair charging us to check in. Hence Bristol Airport thinking it can charge for using luggage trolleys (yes, it now cost £1, non-refundable, just to wheel your bags around the airport with the worst transport links in the UK).

But you know what? - as long as none of us actually does anything about it by changing our consuming habits, nothing will change. We have the power - will we use it??

Graeme Bell, Dinan, France

I thought expensive stuff like coffee and train tickets were what stopped economies deflating too much.

Mim, LINCS,

I have been saying that there is a recession coming for ages, the governmental figures are never right - child poverty - we have not seen anything yet!

Just wait till Mr Average cannot get a 0% transfer on his existing credit cards - the country is living on credit, has been for years - wake up and stop unnecessary shopping people.

As for congestion charge coming to Cambridge (or a city near you) just look at why - housing development along the A14 / M11 corridor ( COULD BE a MAJOR ROAD NEAR YOU) .
Incentive? Money from central to local government - which could have been used to upgrade the roads which have remained as they were before any major new towns & housing developments!

Something for nothing government, greedy MPs who are out of touch with reality & fat cat bosses created from the profits of denationalised industries - makes me wonder why any imigrant would desperately want to come here!

I'm with you Betty, working & skrimping, I know my place!

Mo, Cambridge, England

I live outside the UK. I travel a lot, and buy many goods on the internet.

Whilst travelling, and shopping around I have noticed a certain synergy to the prices that you find.

For example, a pair of branded shoes that would cost $100 in New York, will cost 100 euros in Europe, and GBP 100 in the UK. Even ignoring current excahnge rates it's easy to see where we get the 'rip off' reputation.

Have a look around, you will find that this rule applies to many, many branded goods around the world.

Andrew McCarthy, Pontevedra, Spain

I have always enjoyed your insights on the football front and I agree with your analysis here. For me the inflated asset price wealth that people believe they have has led them to think that some of these high street rip offs are OK.

In case you read this Tim - I happen to be a teacher of Economics!

Richard , London,

According to the government, about 30,000 people are finding jobs every month and therefore coming of the unemployment register.

Let's hope they start spending soon!

John, London,

For those of us at the bottom of the pile none of the rip offs you quote have applied to us.We couldnt afford them anyway.
£2 for one cup of cofffee? For £2 I can buy a whole meal for my family -because Ive had to.

I wonder how all of those who have been living high on the hog and with juicy credit card bills to pay will manage on the £59.15 per week JSA that they have been long telling the unemployed is too much.

betty, derby, uk

Is your grand profound point that when demand is high prices are high and when demand falls, prices fall? Well done, maybe you could pass GCSE economics.

Tim, Oxford,

Crikey, you sound just as cynical as me!

You're not my long lost brother are you?

I hope your article makes a few people take notice of what's going on but I doubt it will. Truth is that those of us that have been watching this fiasco going on (how much for a sandwich?... I could buy a loaf of bread, butter, a pack of ham AND a knife for that and STILL have change!!!) are already aware, and those that live the social lie and believe that the stock market is a good thing are so engrossed in that strange virtual world that they are incapable of getting a realistic perspective.

And whatever happened to not being ripped off when buying a car? Why aren't hybrids and other more ecological forms of transport priced to encourage their use. Ah... The great god "Profit" raises its head again.

Short of electric shock treatment I really don't know what can be done to wake the sleepers up.

This country, perhaps this world, is secretly run by Ferrengi's!

David Lambert, Northaw, UK

I live near Lands End Cornwall , as far away from London as you can get , but even down here at Sennen my local beach we have expensive parking and even more expensive clampers who pounce if you're a minute over your time. Thats how they make their money. So at the end of the day when you're relaxing , enjoying you're £2 coffee , reflecting on the £860 you've just spent on the latest mass produced epoxy surfboard from a Thai sweatshop that cost £120 to make , you suddenly realise you've got to fill your tank to get home!!! We're soon going to need a mortgage centre in the car park at the beach for a day out to cover all the hidden costs you did'nt plan for . Will the British ever stop falling for marketing and celebrity hype?? Maybe only now when the money starts running out.

Mark Eley, Penzance, UK

Very good article, but along with other good articles in the UK press as to how the Government, especially Gordon Brown and his equally incompetent predecessor Tony Blair, have mismanaged the UK economy, I suspect the British public will do nothing about it. On the brighter side, the Brits should think themselves lucky; in South Africa the banks charge exorbitant fees - one of these is for handling cash !

Nigel, Pretoria, South Africa

This article has touched a raw nerve. One of the things that irritates me is the fact that the government charges a duty, which is a tax by any other name, on petrol, adds the cost of the petrol, and then levies VAT, ie, tax on tax!
Another rip-off, is a bank charging a managing fee, for lending you money! The list is endless. The time is right for people to take to the streets, like when they protested against poll tax.
There is much worse going on right now. This country is a shambles, of which T5 is a glowing example.

John Kessler, London, UK

Good article, depressing comments. The gold sale was a clear mistake, as was clear at the time - the price went up sharply between the tranches which should in itself have been cause for concern. With regard to the depressing side of things; is financial illiteracy and neologisms such as "Nu Labour" now mainstream? Disheartening if so - I've often found the comments on TOL to be interesting and occasionally informative in the past, but most of the previous comments are ill-informed drivel.

Paul, London,

Nothing focuses the mind like unemployment and we haven't seen enough of it yet but if we do, a £2 cup of coffee will be completely out of reach. A good column Martin Samuel but you forgot to mention the amount of weed and cocaine that leaves people comatose too. A lot of these people don't know who they are never mind how much they're paying for anything. To anyone with half an ounce of common sense your points have been glaringly obvious for a long time. Accepting the 'con' seems to part of the British psyche unfortunately.

judy, Liverpool, England

soon they will be charging us for the air we breathe.

Alice, Hove,

Well said Sir!!

The place has gone to the dogs, well it would have done if it could afford the fuel/taxi, parking, entry, refreshments, tax, etc., the list is bloody endless...
Please can we have our money back Mr. Brown, your services are not fit for purpose.
Surely a case for the Trading Standards people....

Gerrin Poorer, Hebden Bridge, Glorious West Yorkshire

Welcome to third world Britain, If only the climate were better we could grow bananas and become a real banana republic.
Thank God I live in the Northeast where at least we don't have the local government that the poor inhabitants of our so called capital city have.We have labour in control but they are marginaly more sensible than there counterparts down south.

john tweddle , chester le street , England

Anywhere that has the westminister system of Govt is a total rip off not just the UK, Australia is another one, why should a subaru wrx in Aust cost $40,000 AUD and the same car that is sold in the USA sell for $25,000 USD if we take in the exchange rate 1 aud = .94 then the australian version should be $27,500 approx the same car in the UK is around 20,500 quid, thats about 42,000 usd and almost the same in aud dollars, now doesnt that tell you something about the great govt system that controls britian and most of the commonwealth countries, its time for the modern day war of independence and lets move away from the over taxing over governing and backward thinking system and all adopt the American way. After all what country has the influence as the US does on the globe, its no longer Great Britian... Its the rip off of the century to live under the union jack anywhere.

paul, adelaide,

That is the best article I have read in a long time. Yesterday a lady from the inland revenue came to my house to collect overdue income tax. I told her that I would have to split the payment over several months as I was using my own personal cash to subsidise my business, who are having cash flow problems because my biggest client is having cash flow problems, because their biggest clients ( who are mostly banks ) are having cash flow problems. She looked at me with a blank expression ! Mr Brown will soom realise that the people who expects to pay tax are going to struggle more and more as the companies at the top , who he quite happily subsidises, are unwilling to pay their bills on time. I will be totally amazed if any business owner votes labour next time. Don't know if the tories will be any better but it has to be worth a go !!

Andy , Manchester, UK

It's supposed to be a democracy. If it is why can't the people get rid of these monstrous governments and councils, with all their expenses and pension schemes which are why everything is ridiculously expensive. When my son was taken ill late last year, Hillingdon Hospital treated him for pneumonia and discharged him after a week. Before he arrived home he collapsed and was taken to Bromley Hospital where he was cured of viral encephalitis. And how much does the NHS cost us. It's cost us the lives of many of the armed forces who are sent to fight with no equipment.

Ron Naylor, Edgeworth, NSW Australia

"....drop six figures on noodles could be about to change quite dramatically." If you can drop six figures on noodles, you should manage the recession ok.

John, Oldham, Lancs

I like this article a lot. It just brings to life what I have been saying to people for a decade now.

I'm French but was dragged up in the UK. I strated understanding things under harold...No not king Harold...the Labour one....the man who ruinned England for ever. He was a true socialist. You know someone who says do what I say not what I do. That's the first creed. The second is even better. If you have money you have to give it to a socialiste who has none.

Now this is very important: We have just got a socialist mayor in Toulouse. Fisrt time ever ! Now why are some inteligent people socialists in France. Rich people who should never even think of such a thing.

Just go back above....one has to give to poor socialists...so if you become one you just get cash from the others...but you still have to try and look poor....not only mentally but physically also.....best example our ex-Prime minister Laurent Fabius.

Oh coffee at £ 2....no its water !

Edouard, Toulouse, France

It is not the cost of something that matters, but its value. I don’t know anywhere else in the world that seems so content to pay such ludicrous prices for such patently poor quality - and most of us don’t seem to know it. We don’t have an eye for worth. We don’t seem to realise that we dress ourselves in awful clothing, drink awful coffee (as if that matters), eat awful food, and accept awful service. I’d love to think things will change, but they won’t – we are an impoverished lot and we won’t admit it because we take criticism as an affront, not as a cause for change.

As an aside, I paid £500 to an electrician at the weekend for coming out on an emergency call. His rate was £150 per hour!! Pro-rata that works out at over 300k per year. How did it get to be like this?

Ed, London,

A golden rule is never vote labour. Never in its history has it ever done the working man any good whatsoever. But whoever looks at the labour party record in government?

There needs to be a counter balance to the Tory party but it should be also be conservative in outlook but from a working mans perspective. The Labour party can never be that.

We have no nation now. Whatever gave it its unique character has been lost for good. Thats no accident. But what has the ordinary citizen ganied in losing their country? Better standards of living? Are people seriously arguing that the health service, education or justice systems are better now than they were a decade ago? And basically that all that government is there for. What a record!

We are an ill-cared for, dumbed down, spied upon nation with nothing at all to be optimistic about.

People will never revolt to make the basic point clear government is there to serve us not the other way round.

Steve Saint, Northampton, UK

What a fantastic article..............when are you going to run for Gordon's position???

Get in touch when you do - I would happily come home from Beijing and help you.

James Ledger, Beijing, China

Shhhh!!!! You'll be talking us into a recession don't ya know?

LOL!!

Nick Marks, London,

Absolutely spot on. The UK is a complete mess after just 10 years of Labour Government. I never voted for them in the past and I certainly never will in the future either. A life abroad is the only option I can see going forward.

SP, Bristol,

Can someone explain why a sandwich that tastes like cardboard costs £3.95 in a motorway service station.....the Uk has lost the plot

Marie, France,

Great article.
I lived a very pleasant and privileged life in London till I was 30, then being entrepreneurial and fed up with the negative attitudes of UK & EU business I moved to L.A - in the Hollywood Hills, peace, quiet, pool, sunshine. My family also ended up on the west coast.The KEY here is quality of life, or basic LACK THEREOF and the ability to find a work / living balance. My friends in banking here are all a wreak, I have many British friends in LA - NONE will ever move back to the UK, I visit 4 to 5 times a year (which is always short, therefore, enjoyable) and I could have written this article 5 years ago, meantime all the good guys who can afford it are leaving, and what is filling the gap?? Parking? how about 2 hrs FREE on Rodeo Drive - try that in Croydon with the parking army. No clamps & towed once in 8 yrs. Cars, petrol & everyday essentials are cheap. The grass is sometimes greener. The system here is loaded against you. Be brave and escape!! $2 to the £!!

Nicholas, LA & London, USA / UK

incompetence. laziness. refusal to hold anyone accountable for these things. modern britian. you get what you deserve.

ms, london,

From the comments posted, this article is just as relevant in the USA, so is the level of frustration and anger.

John Schwartz, Elbert , USA CO

well put, thats why I moved to Canada!

Ian Elsom, Okotoks / Calgary, Canada / Alberta

Hang on, this isn't about football!

Paul, London,

Finally! The first intellegent article in a long, long while. Thank you, Martin Samuel!

Oleg, Toronto, Canada

Seems like the only thing to have got cheaper since 1997 are drugs.......

Les Riv, Norfolk,

Your answer is to pursuade Jeremy Clarkson to be Prime Minister.....

Paul Scofield, Milton Keynes,

Here's another little story:-

I have a wife and 3 kids - 2 of which are 2 year old twins.

2 years ago I moved to France. For good.

We're in the process of restoring a large farm complex. When it's finished it'll be the kind of property that would cost millions in the UK: 4500 sq ft, double-bedrooms & bathrooms galore, underfloor heating, huge lounge and kitchen, loads of other utility and play rooms, 18 acres - right on the edge of a beautiful medieval town and an equally-beautiful river - huge swimming pool, orchards, etc.

All but about 200K (euros) will be funded by a mortgage.

The cost of living is far lower out here, but the savings I'm making in just two areas:-

1. Child care costs (less than 2 euros an hour versus about a tenner an hour in the UK) .

2. Income tax (the 40% rate starts at 270,000 euros for me the family man, versus just above average earnings in the UK).

... are more than paying the entire mortgage (which, incidentally, is fixed for the whole 20 years).

Jon Leigh, Southern, France

The problem is not that coffee costs £2.
The problem is - it can only be called coffee in the UK.
It's not the price, it's what you get for this price.

Mike, London,

Down here in Plymouth we pay £2.50 for a pint of beer, although you can pay £2 for a coffee - your choice. The tap water's sweet, and parking is easily available. I go up to the smoke once in a while but, hayseed though I may be, I am aware of the congestion charge, and the cost of illegal parking. What planet does your friend come from, and how does he manage to do business at all? He must be taken for a ride everyday, not just by Red Ken and the traffic wardens.

Joe Fogey, Plymouth,

Spot On!

Hence I now live in Sweden a supposedly expensive country, only I pay about a 1/4 as much for a travel card for a service that works, 1/3 as much on my rent for an equivalent place, and the congestion charge is about £1.50 etc......

I lived in London my entire life before moving, where I worked hard in a good job but could barely make ends meet without a lavish lifestyle, here I work hard and have an excellent quality of life on half the money.

Britain IS a mess, time to wake up and have a shake down before everyone with any common sense and a work ethic ups sticks. And thats before we even mention Crime, Tax money wasted etc....

Julian Clayton, Stockhom,

Spot On!

Hence I now live in Sweden a supposedly expensive country, only I pay about a 1/4 as much for a travel card for a service that works, 1/3 as much on my rent for an equivalent place, and the congestion charge is about £1.50 etc......

I lived in London my entire life before moving, where I worked hard in a good job but could barely make ends meet without a lavish lifestyle, here I work hard and have an excellent quality of life on half the money.

Britain IS a mess, time to wake up and have a shake down before everyone with any common sense and a work ethic ups sticks. And thats before we even mention Crime, Tax money wasted etc....

Julian Clayton, Stockhom, Sweden

Try this for size. Parking in Ealing General Hospital is £3.50. A small bar of Cadburys Fruit and nut in the hospital gift shop is 59 pence. Price in the paper shop down the road from the hospital is 44 pence. Wholesale price for the bar is 32 pence. Meanwhile the hospital A&E smells of urine and MRSA rages on - among the worst in the country.

Mike, Denham, UK

Another con to beware of is buying over the Internet from the US. If your goods are despatched with UPS expect to pay whatever additional charges UPS wish to con you out of under the guise of legitimacy.

Sandra, London, United Kingdom

Nobody has asked why 2 pounds is being charged for the coffee? everyone is feeding someone up the chain, - the coffee shop had huge rents,could only afford cheap labour and made just enough to get by.

Ordinary decent folk have had to take out huge loans to put a roof over their heads and a lot of people have struggled. Yes, some abused the credit system and 'spent large' but the majority made just enough to get by.

Then they had to borrow more just to get by.

This now is not the case, as a nation you are not making enough to get by and the rug that you all sat on has been pulled from under you by your Government. The question is how will you weave a new rug now that your current government has been central to the disposal of everything you need to manufacture?

Brown and Blair as public servants are accountable - an example needs to be made of them. The UK will go through financial hardship and some will suffer greatly, it is inevitable. You must find the right path for a future.

Jonathan, Melbourne, Australia

My wife and I were considering coming to the UK for a holiday. Can I bring my own sandwiches and thermos of inexpensive coffee, or will I have to pay a surcharge?

Mike Jackson, Buderim , Queensland Australia

A very truthful article. Is England possibly the most expensive country in the world? I love this country but I have never lived anywhere where the prices are so high.

Ro, Cheltenham,

Saw people waiting in line to use a cash point at a Motorway Service area the other day ............charging £1.50 to withdraw your own cash -absolute madness ..............and lets not even start on Motorway Service station prices and service quality!!

ENR, London , UK

Excellent article!

Today my wife phoned to complain to a well known washing up liquid manufacturer that their new design bottle contains 50ml less than the previous design - for the same price! That's a sneaky 10% price increase and a definite rip off. Do they think we are living in fairyland or what?

Malcolm, London,

What a bunch of whingers!.
For those who care to look at objective statistics (international as well as British), the British economy is in a far better state than in 1997, and education and health care provision are both vastly improved. The standard of living has improved markedly, and the British Economy has not had a single quarter of negative growth over those 11 years. There is not a chance of a recession in the next six months.
This state of affairs has certainly NOT been the result of socialist policies, as the Tories and Labour both occupy the same political ground. So the future of the country's economy will depend upon the competence of the party that wins the next election. Whoever does win, this country will continue to prosper, and if people are prepared to spend two pounds on a coffee, then that's the free market for you.

arnoldo, Coventry,

You think the UK is bad - you want to see the Irish Republic!

Robert Mullan, Arklow,

Spot on!
BT charges me £4.50 for the 'privilege' of sending me my Bill.
When I complained to say that ' what you .BT. are doing is analog to a Bar chargin me for the receipt' they didnt know what to say. But keep insisting that I register and pay by direct debit.
I dont want to register, but they still want to charge me. I read that a lady ( a solicitor) is taking BT to court.
It used to be that, one didnt pay 'joining up fees' 'registering fees' 'admin fees' and for other similar crap.

Why should the customer pay £4.50 per a quaterly bill, consisting of 3 pages, God only knows. Nearly £20 a year!

What happened to the basic principles of Capitalisms?!
You figure your expenses, provide a service and I -The Custumer- simply pay for it.

There're many avoidable cons (bottled water, ridiculously priced coffee ) but charging Me for Paying the Bill- this mean that Is little we Can do.Unless we start group actions.
I would like to Support the Lady taking BT to court, BUT HOW?

Blendi Progri, London, UK

Well said Paul of Bucks! And how come its taken so long for the hacks of Fleet Street to notice what the rest of us have known for the past 10 years?!

Memo to Anne from Glasgow - my daugher will end up owing £9k more at the end of her Uni course than someone from your city - yet we live in the same country, Great Britain - fair? I don't think so, and who is subsidising your parliaments' generocity...

If you want to know why we are getting a little fed up south of the border, ask a certain Tam D - at least he knew what was coming.....

B Hobson, Birmingham, England

Nick from Bristol. There is a very good reason why you can buy your produce cheaper in other parts of the world - in those parts the products you buy are generally manufactured using labour from a workforce that is under-paid and badly treated.

That said, I do agree that there is an incredible amount of ripping off that goes on in this country - £2 is totally ludicrous for a coffee £1.20 is totally ludicrous for a loaf of bread - Dont even get me started on train ticket prices!

Yes, sometimes people are daft and actually believe adverts, paying stupid prices because they are simply told its cheap - but then consumer choice is a complete lie. If we COULD pay less, we often would - its often a choice between paying the price or not getting the goods at all.

simon, Birmingham, UK

Journalists . .. How will a severe recession affect those who have lived reasonably? Please try to answer this question.
I have an idea that we will get trashed as well . . . . .

Les, Ramsgate, Kent

I come from a Country were people actually put fire on a train because it was late one too many times. Here when I went to renew my monthy tube ticket on 2nd of January it went form 80 something to 90 something and yes, I complaint. The answer was take it or leave it and here I am.
Sometimes if I'm crossed I refure to 'show my ticket on demand' because the trains and horrendously dirty. The answer is 'that's how passengers leave the train'. There's a need of a deep cultural change. People can drop demand for things when it's not fare and substitute the good for another when possible. Nobody uses that. A real shame.

Flavia, London,

Things have been great in America ever since...?? Oh, really?? And if things aren't actually as rosey as you think there are on your own soil, your foreign policy has screwed up countries from Central to South America, the Middle to the Far East...as you guys like to say, 'Good Job!'

simon, cardiff, wales

Solution: take public transport and stop being a selfish car driver.

Has this article been taken directly from the Daily Mail?

T Edmondson, Beijing, China

Oh dear, another off-the-wall article encouraging the predictable ravers and ranters to have yet another go at the government. Why do the majority, including M Samuel, suffer from persistent amnesia ? Have you all forgotten the history of the last 25 years ? Government lost control of credit under Thatcher, who wasted the enormous revenues from the North Sea and the privatisation programmes in her ' give away ' Budgets, directly encouraging that ' loadsamoney ' and credit-fuelled binge that has driven the market. In case anyone else hasn't noticed - the government does not own Starbucks, the National Trust , hotels or theatres so consumers choose what to buy ( or not ). If ranters wish to rant , let them rant about idiotic consumerism and personal greed...or is it easier to blame ' Them ', someone else?

Fred , Droitwich Spa,

l read last week that in 1997 it took 11 working days to pay the average Council Tax bill, but now in 2008 that has risen to 20 days. Add in the hundreds of stealth taxes, the credit crisis and the now falling house prices and l fear we are heading for an economic 'perfect storm.' l sincerely hope not but the portents look frightening.

When rip-off price rises are put in simple terms it is easy for everyone to see the truth and get angry. Well done Samuel, maybe the media will now get the message and follow your lead.

Kevin, Manchester, UK

Why don't you people do what we did to the British government back in 1776? Things have been great in America ever since! :)

Bobby, New Orleans, LA

Fact: Labour governments fiddle the inflation figures and Tory governments fiddle the unemployment figures

Richard, Bexhill, UK

Great article, but would the Brits dare to fight back? We've had rip offs for years, cars, council tax, are just two. I think we will continue to moan over the bottle of wine on a Friday but nothing will change!

John Land, Plymouth,

Please check out this blog to read comments from people of likemind on the economy. We are experiencing the same inflation, deception, housing bubble, etc. in the U.S. They are selling our highways and parks to foreign rulers (Juan Carlos) without informing the people. This is probably because they lost the money on Wall Street. You may find a few good suggestions on how to prepare for what's coming.

www.globaleconomicanalysis.blogspot.com
(or just Google Michael Shedlock)

Barney Oldfield, Tyler, Texas

Fools and their money are always parted with ease.Which leads to an inevitable conclusion about the British.

eric campbell, harrogate, uk

At last someone has said it.
All of the large corporations that make record profits are the most unpopular ones right now - Shell, Tesco, HSBC?
Are we all asleep?

Jaguar and Land Rover have just been sold to India, we live in a society that photographs our every move, we have a Prime Minister that no-one actually voted for, the very companies that we complain about being expenive are making vast profits out of us, we have to buy gas off the Russians and yet we all just sit there, too busy getting the kids to school, paying the bills, doing the shopping.

OK, so we all complain, the English are experts at silent grumbling. But at the end of the day, this government, the multi-nationals and banks have been relying on us to be too busy to notice.

We're probably too late - we've no choice over petrol prices, supermarkets or bank charges. This country is about screwed.

Please wake up.

Neill, North Yorks,

How can people be so naive? This country has been ruined in the years Labour has been in power. Immigration is out of control - no wonder we have a housing crisis. What would happen if we all decided to be lazy and get the government to support us? Labour has yet again confirmed that they cannot run the country.

People need to be more responsible. Britain has become the soft country of Europe. People have to earn their benefits. We need to control immigration before we lose control of the country entirely. Monies would be better directed to those who deserve it and have invested in the country (pensioners, the armed forces).

We have a country of waste and laziness. With Members of Parliament not willing to spend money wisely what chance does the average man have if he is looking at them as an example.

If I don't put my tax return in on time, I get fined. Yet MP's can waste the country's money and not be accountable. This confirms the state of the country.

Paul, Bucks,

My biggest British rip-off: BT charging GBP4.50 trasanction fee if you do not pay your bill via direct debit. That what I call stealing. Since when do you have pay extra fees when you pay your bill on time?

Charles, London,

I am still at a loss as to why if a price is increased above inflation it is not justified with an increase in service, amount or quality. As consumers we seem to have forgotten how to negotiate and bargain.

Jim, LDN,

Thank you for pointing out the truth. Whilst neighbouring countries like Ireland is enjoying average growth levels of 10%, the UK is struggling to reach 2%. What I want to understand is what does Mr Brown stand for? all I see him doing is ‘ducking and diving’. Was he the greatest chancellor Britain has ever seen? Well if you really think about it he hasn’t achieved much, all he has accomplished is giving the Bank of England control of monetary policy. Thus if the economy is over heating the Bank increases interest rates and reduces consumer spend and therefore reduces inflation.

As the article quiet righty points out – the man is scared and understanding the curtains will rise and the truth will be known. Are will really living in ignorance? Is the economy growing at the rate the Government claims?

Dee Parmar, Leicester, UK

You can't afford everything you want in life - typical British lack of perspective that leads a journalist in a 'serious' paper to be so totally negative about the country on the basis of the cost of coffee, going to the football and parking charges... if you can't afford them, adapt your behaviour! And focus on the real issues and possible solutions to them, like dealing with the housing shortage... And as for Alistair blaming it all on Scotland, his argument would be no more valid if he were to blame it all on the North of England (where I'm originally from, BTW), and is just another example of the petty 'Little Britain' or, even worse, 'Little England' mentality that now seems so rampant...

KT, Paris,

Inflation is measured by teh cost of a 'typical shopping basket'. How many times a year do you buy a new TV, Video Recorder, DVD player or Digital Camera? In real terms these items go down in price as technology improves, that's why they are in the basket. It has become apparent to me that the longer any one political party is in power, th emore complacent they become. The same happened with the Tories, and although I helped vote them in, i recognised when it was time to vote them out. Now though, I don't have faith in any of the parties, and parliamentarians in general seem to be ripping off the public.

I find it interesting, I can buy products from around the world via the Internet and have them delivered within days, cheaper than I can if I buy them in this country. I suppose some will say I am not supporting UK commerce by doing so, but then UK commerce does not seem to have my best interests at heart either.

Ron, Milton Keynes, Bucks

Could'nt agree more with this article,its just greed, big companies making big profits for share holders and big salaries for a few at the top of the business . Shop around, get a coffee at Witherspoons 89p and why do people wander around city centres with bottled water, its not the Sahara .

Nick , Bristol, England

this is why i gave up living in england years ago. i suggest germany ; the beer is cheaper, more avaliable and of a far better quality. 5 pounds for a four pack of carling? R.I.P. off. UK.

dave, perth,

You forgot to mention the cost of public transport, especially in London, where a single stop fare on the tube costs £4. Officially the most expensive in Europe.....Thanks Mr Livingstone.

Sedgwick, London, UK

Two quick questions - can anyone remember a Labour government that ran the economy responsibly? I'm old enough to remember the socialist idiocy of the 1970s - just - but there must be readers who remember much further back.

Second - does anyone know of - or have the resources to set up - a website that targets rip-off Britain? eg, that lists flight prices to / from UK, prices of cars "here and there", ipods, downloads IKEA sofas etc? I think it would be a good business in fact , especially if those few who do charge the same advertised on it.

alan, london, london

If Labour is doing nothing else, it's keeping the Tories out, and that fine by me.
There will be riots again within 3 years of a Tory government taking power, mark my words.

albert whittle, st helens, england

Good on ya!, it is about time someone said something, now all the general public need to do is DO something about it. Vote with your feet!!! and refuse to be conned.

Mark, London, UK

Carpet ride is about to end. The Big One is about to hit us all. This crash will make the Great Depression look like a blip.

And of course, the Government now has practically every conceivable piece of information about us on databases, to tax us more, until the data gets lost and falls into the wrong hands.

Talk about 1984 - Big Brother society. Its here

Great article

Daphne , Hitchin, UK

Great article. I guess it reflects the frustrations being felt by the silent majority. If my wife agreed, I would leave U.K. tomorrow. Things are going get to get a lot worse for most people. Time to bring in someone tough, sensible and practical like Mrs Thatcher. Unfortunately can't see anyone remotely close to her in any of the parties.

Mahesh , Stanmore, Middlesex, UK

Tell you what, Martin, next time you want to go into London, perhaps you should get the train. Not only would you avoid all those nasty charges, you would arrive more relaxed and could probably have spent the time in reading rather than huffing and puffing about the traffic.

Phil Chamberlain, London,

Mokkochan - those prices are in British pounds. Not dollars. I thougt it might be worth pointing that out If you think Great Britain is cheaper than the rest of the world.

Shirley E, London,

'It's crazy but it's true/England wants to rip off you'

"Ripoff" anthem was beautifully penned and recorded by Ian Hunter on his masterpiece "Rant" album several years back...

Bruce, Kentucky, USA

Excellent article. I now live on Vancouver Island and can only feel sorry for those left in the UK who receive such rubbish treatment. Worse : the surly unhelpful staff make the rip-off experience something never to be repeted.

nick, victoria, Canada

Alistair
It's disappointing that Mr Brown's nationality has anything to do with this and that the Scot's 'voted him in'.(It's news to me that we had so much power).
We in Scotland can't do right for doing wrong..
The choice is yours, you don't have to buy bottled water.
So stop whingeing.

Anne McKinney, Glasgow, Scotland

Alastair
I'm disappointed that Mr Brown's nationality has been brought up (Timesonline- shame on you).
As for voting him in- I didn't think we had that amount of power- that is certainly news to me.
The fact is, you don't need to buy bottled water or expensive coffees. Stop whingeing and be glad you have the choice.

Anne , Glasgow, Scotland

Well.. When you put it that way... Very thought provoking. Very well written. There may be trouble ahead as that old advert goes.

larry, Stratford,

I'm afraid the cost to the nation of selling the gold reserves cheap is not just billions. It is over a trillion, i.e. (946-275) x 16 x 14 x 20 x 395(tons) = $1,187,401,600 which could pay off most of the visible nation debt or perhaps half of the hidden nation debt of public service pensions and the PFI.

The other idiotic thing Brown did with his policy of tax and waste today at tomorrows expense, was the attack on pensions which will have destroyed peoples future retirements. I suppose the good side is that private pensions will be so bad that you won't be able to pay any tax towards the unfunded public service ones.

John cakebread, Haselmere, Surrey

wonderful piece, and spot on. in a way, it is mildly satisfying that this rip-off gravy train will come to an end, and all of these idiots who have been ripping us off will be out of work, and will probably be ripped off themselves!

bye bye gordon, good riddance to bad rubbish!

shaun, selby,

In many respects the British only have themselves to blame. Where are the protests about poor government? Where are the demands for better performance from politicians and Whitehall civil servants? Where are the demands for lower taxes? I have always admired the politeness and decency of the British people but in this case it is a liability. The British people deserve better.

David Lea-Smith, Edinburgh, U.K.

If you really want to see how we are being ripped off by our government of crooks take a look at airport taxes. Compare the taxes today to the taxes paid in 1999. Your in for a shock. Look at the taxes from Heathrow to LA. They total £240 per person. Who has caused this, who do you think, its GB.
Ray

ray, Harrow, UK