George Osborne is spot-on.

Brown helped cause the crash and is now directing the ambulances......

Phil, Preston,

People have been warning me of a currency collapse for some time now!

They initially thought it would be the Dollar that would collapse but over time they've come to realise that the Pound will go first, then the dollar! Pound to be replaced by the Euro and the Dollar to be replaced by the Amero!

Andrew T, Durham, England, UK

The biggest falls in sterling against the US dollar in the past few weeks (in one case 9 cents in a day) have followed speeches by Mervyn King. Since when has it been the role of the Governor of the Bank of England to talk down the pound? If he can't maintain confidence in the pound he should go.

John, London,

Nobody like a prophet in his own land; economists doubly so...

Rex lester, Surbiton, UK

How can Labour say that Osbourne is talking down the Pound. It had sunk by over 25% in the last year already. And what about Darling's comments in the summer which caused the Stock Market to collapse? Pots and kettles come to mind, but there again, who expects Labour to be honest?

Bruce Burniston, Swansea, UK

George Osborne's the biggest liability to our economy. Anyone who'd risk collapsing the pound for political points has no business in UK politics. When the rest of the world are pullining together it's typical for the Tories to try and spoil things just because they weren't invited.

Mark Sheppard, Retford, UK

I wish they would all shut up ! We know that there's a recession we are living it you idiots.
Every time you mention it the house and the pound crashes.
JUST ZIP IT!

Simon, Bristol, England

Was this the same strong pound everyone was blaming for making life difficult for exporters two months ago? I'm not sure anyone here has a clue what they're talking about...

Ted Dobzhansky, Reading,

We wouldn't have this problem if we had joined the euro in 2000!

But still all the politicians and most of the media are in denial...... sad sad sad

Peter GODDARD, Le Rouret, France, EU

Osborne is pointing out the facts and got damned for it.
Debt and deceit, what a way to run an ecconomy. It didn't take long for old labour to return, they'll ruin us all.

dave, London, uk

I think this country has an enormous amount of debt, both on and off balance sheet. I also get the impression from past budgets that Brown likes to conceal uncomfortable truths. I am therefore not confident in the pound keeping it's value. I wonder if currency traders keep an eye on these things?

Mike, Birmingham,

Hilarious that Darling should accuse the Tories of changing tack. 10p tax? "No more boom and bust"? The list of New labour U-turns is much longer. And it won't be long before the IMF comes and makes them reverse their current disastrous policies.

J Jenkins, York,

Forget about the Housing market. That has gone south and wont recover for some time. Just put up interest rates to stabilise sterling.

callum, Liverpool, UK

Lets face it we are heading for a slump next year. The worst is yet to come.

Louis, Liverpool, UK

I totally agree with George Osborne he is quite right to warn the British public of the likely consequences of borrowing more from the IMF, we are paying the price of Browns 10 years
with his stealth taxes. We need to wake up to the fact that we are heading into a deep recession.

Roy, SOUTHPORT,

Darling and Brown are clearly embarrassed by the 25% fall in the GBP exchange rate (so far). The collapsing confidence in the debt-ridden UK economy is a direct consequence of NuLab policies. Their only solution is to increase debt, to be paid for by the taxes of generations to come. God help us!

Melchet, Edinburgh, UK

Brown has devalued, without saying the D word. Let the £ freefall and it devalues naturally.
I watched Osborne this am on TV, totally agreed with him, he has the guts to say what others dare not. All we borrow has to be paid back, if not by me then my grandchildren, no such thing as a free lunch.

Bee, York,

So the Shadow Chancellor's remarks threaten the stability of the pound? Apparently currency traders weren't aware of the state of the U.K. economy until George told them. Oh really, give me a break. The pound is already in freefall or hasn't anybody noticed. And it's Brown fault entirely!

Richard, Newcastle upon Tyne, England

Peter, what are things best left unsaid?

It's not as if nobody had noticed the mess we are in until Osbourne opened his mouth.

Any fool knows that' devaluation will happen if you overborrow. He stated the obvious. Question is...does Brown know?

tris, dundee, Scotland

Mike, Romsey

He has no power. He can no more talk the £ down than he can talk UP his lottery numbers. Do you think traders are unaware of the issues? Of course not. FACT: £ is down by 30+% against the $

Osbourn is 100% correct, and about time too. If Mike's vote is lost, well mine is gained.

Jon Cooper, Herts, UK,

The pound probably will collapse and so will the dollar. you cannot continue to plough more borrowed fiat money into an economy, lower interest rates and not expect to cause hyper inflation the likes of which we saw in germany in the early 20's. and it CAN happen here because thats economics.

simon lomax, warrington, uk

Give up the Pence, join the Eurozone, I say. Small currencies are no good in the times of crises, if ever.

PEF, Venice,

AS we said during the war CARELESS TALK COSTS LIFES.
In This case careless talk costs us our hard earned savings.
I suppose if you are super rich it does not make much difference.
Up the BULLINGDON CLUB !!

ONLY FOOLS AND HORSES Etc Etc.

Bernard Parke, GUILDFORD, Surrey

Osborne is very wrong to say the markets are looking at economic fundamentals, they are looking at ways of making money for themselves.

Mike Donovan, London,

Mike, I think that you will find that making money is fundamental to the market, so you are infact agreeing with him.

Don, Bury,

Sterling began to slide from the moment Brown started talking up 'borrow and spend' and the markets reacted. Osborne merely stated the bleeding obvious.
Cameron's recently proposed cash incentive for employers to take on an unemployed person but Brown rubbished that as 'unfunded'. Hard not to laugh

m collins, Leeds,

Nothing has changed; the Labour Party's Stalinist tendencies are alive and well.

How DARE Osbourne contradict our 'Glorious Leaders'? Purge him immediately!!!

JJH, Stratford on Avon, UK

I wonder how a lower pound going to effect banks
who've took out massive internation loans over the
last 4 years? It'll be another big recessionary factor.

Plus the national debt to hit 1.2 trillion.

We look a basket- case.

M. Walker., Nr. Bromsgrove., Worcs

So a currency and an economy with good fundamentals can be "talked down"? Well why doesn't Gordon show he is the miracle worker he proclaims to be and talk it back up? The reality is Labour are looking for any excuse to shift the blame for their decimation of the UK economy over the last decade.

Bruce Mcaaw, Grantham,

“I do worry and wonder about their judgment here. Only a few weeks ago David Cameron said and he was asked specifically was it right to let borrowing rise to support the economy at a time like this and he said yes you would expect borrowing to go up. I think this says it all,

nig , Blackwood , Wales

Has this crisis been 'engineered' over the last decade by a party intent on forcing the country into the EU and a single currency? The watered down communistic club admistered by Brussels strengthens and democracy becomes just an illusion and pacifier for the people, ruled by idealistic bureaucrats.

Andy Fleming, Liverpool, UK

No doubt Osborne will say it was a price worth paying for his stupid remarks, if the pound collapses. I have always been a Tory, but this man is willing to destroy us, I will never vote for them again with him in the Cabinet.

Mike, Romsey,

Lots of us knew the economy would collapse two years ago, but we where silenced, called doommongers, dont spoil the party "House prices only go up" Not a whisper from the media or economical "experts".Now the collapse is happening and we are told to keep quiet.How dare you, enough of this censorship

Hywel Dda, Truro, U.K.

Do you really think that the investment managers and sovereign wealth funds wait for a politician to tell them which currency is weak? Only a labour politician could think that.

And Will, Hartlepool, what is the alternative to the currency markets then? A govt department? GBP weak on fundamentals.

Ryan G, London,

I am a currency trader. Andrew, Frankfurt, Germany
Yes Andrew and it's people like you who speculate in a country's currency who cause financial disaster to a country. It should be against international law to trade in currency.
as to Osbourne, truthfull may be but not beneficial to voice it

Will, Hartlepool, UK

This is a Politician telling the truth finally and he is being blamed. Why? Do Politicians have to swear an oath not to tell the truth?

The pound is falling anyway. Now I understand why, thanks to Mr Osbourne. I think he has done the right thing as opposition Chancellor

Tom, London,

Osborne Irresponsible? Maybe. But what about Gordon Brown?
How responsible has he been over the New Labour decade? How resonsible is someone who sells a chunk Britain's gold reserves at a discount price? How responsible is a man who raids pension funds? How responsible were all 66/7 stealth taxes?

Ronald, Ipswich, UK

Eric - Osbourne wasn't educated at Eton, he was educated at St Paul's in London.

Further, there is nothing irresponsible about pointing out potential dangers ahead - that's his job.

At least his negative drones, unlike yours, were factually accurate.

George, London,

At the present time why would an investor want to hold sterling assets? The government is borrowing to boast day-to-day consumption and to pay for welfare benefits. This government has over taxed the wealth generating part of the economy, making repayment of debt even more difficult.

Costas, Cyprus,

It is not the debts it is the write downs. That money is gone, and will not be coming back. So it can not be used for financing anything. The same happened in the 60s councils borrowed money to build estates that immediately collapsed. They still had to be paid for. They could not borrow more money

ged, manchester,

To all the fools yammering about George Osborne damaging the £, it is not possible. You can only move the markets (or a currency), if you tell them something they do not know. The £ has been falling for months. perhaps Brown and Darling should tell the truth now for a change.
!

Kate G, London, UK

At least Osbourne is telling it as it is and not trying to fool the whole country. And Vince Cable actually said that Osbourne is right but weeks late as the run on the pound has already begun. As for Darling not wanting anyone to mention the pound, I'm not surprised, it's getting hung out to dry.

Edward, London,

So it's ok for the Chancellor (who has responsibility in Govt) to talk of doom for the economy, but not ok for his Shadow (who doesn't) to tell it like it is? Talk of dual standards! Keep attacking the Govt's economic record; it stinks.

Marcher Baron, Welsh Marches,

Mr Wisbey is correct. However the problem for the Conservatives (and Cameron is to blame as much as Osbourne) is that they have been completely wrong-footed on the whole economic question - that bastian of Tory competence.
The pound will fall further irrespective. Thanks to Brown the UK is bust.

andrew foster, york,

George Osborne is right about sterling. Not only are the gov't's pronouncements on increasing spending and borrowing in a recession not helping confidence in the currency but also Mervyn King's (Gov BoE) comments that he will slash rates to whatever rates necessary. Blame Brown and King not Osborne.

Mario, London,

The fall in the Pound from USD 2.11 to USD 1.47 has absolutely zero to do with George Osborne or the Conservative Party, and it is completely disingenuous to suggest after 11 years in Government that if this trend continues it will be the fault of an Opposition Politician. Talk of spin !

John Michael Wisbey, Virginia Water, Surrey, UK

Someone has to stand up to brown and the only plan he has ever had & ever will have BORROW BORROW and not pay back. He sells our future our children's to his fellow bankers and shady countries. Brown shows less empathy for us peasants and our children than cat does with a mouse it's toying with.

Geoff, Weymouth, UK

Oh, nobody listens to this Bullingdon little oik anyway. Once those photos of him in his tweed breeches were published, his career was over.

James, London, UK

People who criticise Osbourne for speaking about the horrible mess we're in seem to be saying that we should pretend that no such debt exists. When will people (especially those in the Labour party) WAKE UP and start admitting that debt is a powerfully negative instrument rather than a savior!

Breezy, London,

He wasn't telling the truth. The truth is much much worse.

M.Yeh, London, UK

He can say what he wants.. market forces are greater than him any individual,Let the market decide we dont have to worry about what who say what? Market already knows

paul le, mancehster,

With his education at Eton you might think Osbourne would have the ability to word his opinion with a greater focus on responsibility to his country.......alas self interest for self and party came first...his negative drones are getting annoying

Eric, Southwick, England

When the pound does collapse NuLabour will be frantically looking for somebody to blame, Mr Osbourne will do nicely and of course it will have nothing to do with Mr Browns recless policies.
If the pound does collapse I want to see some resignations and I am not talking about Mr Osbourne.

Alan Keith Gardner, Leeds, UK

He is right, and right to say what has been in the minds of all of us watching screens last week. They had us pull savings out of here, and then out of there, and now where to put the cash? Bank safe deposit boxes do not pay interest. Any sound foreign country with a more solid curency?

Sue Doughty, Twyford, UK

It's nonsene to say that higher borrowing is the sole cause of Sterling losing value against the Dollar, when the USA is increasing borrowing even more than we are. Osborne is very wrong to say the markets are looking at economic fundamentals, they are looking at ways of making money for themselves.

Mike Donovan, London,

Darling completely misrepresents Cameron.
Of course borrowing will rise through more unemployment pay, unless economies are made and Brown-Darling have no intention of making any savings at all. It's just spend. Foreigners know this and have taken their money out. Osborne was right to say so.

christina Speight, london, UK

Quote: - "My job as Shadow Chancellor is to tell the British people the truth about the British economy."

Absolutely correct! Let's have less of the usual politicians weasel words and more plain statements of the truth.

Today the Euro is costing me 87p and rising.

Sanny, Glasgow,

I am a currency trader. Osborne is right to point out some economic facts but his comments over the past few days are highly unlikely to have any direct effect on the value of sterling. He might have also mentioned that the £ has already dropped substantially against the major currencies. Wake up!

Andrew, Frankfurt, Germany

Devaluing the pound is the first step to Britain joining the Euro. I have no doubt that this is Brown's intention and then when we are forced to join he can blame the 'Credit Crisis'. Brown is nothing short of dangerous for this country. Good on you George, keep talking.

Harry Hu, Battersea, UK

This man is a liablity, will do the country a lot of harm, let alone the party

rob, northampton,

Only telling the truth? Osborne should start with the holiday in corfu. As for the pound, when markets rise and fall on rumour, in whose interests does osbourn serve, his own or the nations? Is the financial situation not obvious without more oil being added to the fire? Osborne cannot be trusted.

JFP, East Twickenham, UK

Osborne is saying the truth. Sterling has already fallen by about 30% thanks to Gordon's policies & handling of the financial crisis. It is the Shadow Chancellor's job to oppose the Govt & that's all he is doing. The pound shd not be so so fragile the shadow Chancellor cld affect it. Gordon's fault!

Donna Walker, Effingham, England

I don't think Osborne has said anything we all can't see. The fact is Brits just don't want ot hear the truth! The economy is ill prepared for a recession & yes, excessive borrowing will damage the £ further which is why Gordon Brown 'wants' all major economies to borrow heavily to mitigate this.

Mark, Kent, UK

It's a very fine line.
Osborne is 100% right and has a duty to stand up against the waking nightmare that is Brown and his catalogue of disastrous decisions and actions over the years.
BUT he does need to tread carefully to ensure that he is not the catalyst for disaster that might well unfold.

Chris, Weybridge,

george osborne his taking alot of flax for telling the truth about gordon brown borrowing plans and believe me osborne is completly right,not only britain is facing a recession to start of with ,britain could end up in depression later next year,wake up people you are being played as fools,by brown.

thomas, wallasey, wirral

And it was his party that created this economic model. Anything of value was closed down or sold off by Mrs Thatcher. We can't all make a living holding doors open for each other

Richard, Bexhill, UK

Thank goodness somebody is finally talking sense. Why doesn't anybody ask why the IMF, OECD, EU Commission think we are in such a mess and the rest of the world agrees which is why the pound has already gone down the pan. Osborne is stating what is the truth and it hurts.Labour don't like the truth.

jim, leeds, uk

George Osborne should learn that sometimes some things are best left unsaid, even if those things are true. The financial markets run on confidence and that confidence is very low at the moment, his comments could make things worse.

Peter, Birmingham, UK

Its a bit rich for a government that has devalued sterling by a quarter and bankrupted the banks and pension funds, the centrepieces of our economy, to complain when someone points out that the Emperor has no clothes !

Michael, Tonbridge,

Let's face fact - sterling has lost considerable value, with further promise of interest rate cuts which will only compound the problem. Osborne is right to say it.

G Morgan, Worcester,

A politician actually "telling the truth" - I think not.

Neil, Gloucestershire, England

One has to question David Camerons judgement in letting his friendship cloud what should be a double case for asking this fool to kindly resign.

Is David Cameron's own judgement of friend over country the fatal blow for any election campaign ?

Dave, Lincoln,

The real story here is that the pound has lost nearly a third of its value in three months. Why is Osborne 'under-fire'; the only people criticising him are the government - the ones who got us into this mess.

David, Kent, UK

The sad fact is the Labour Party know that they will loose the next election so are determined to leave the economy in bad shape, borrowing huge amounts of cash making themselves look good. It will be the Tories who'll be left with a poor economy and all hard work to do getting it back in shape.

Ricardo, Inverness, UK

Osbourne is a dying man clutching onto his political credentials and going under fast. He says he is telling the truth but he does not know, in truth, the outcome of the future.
He has lost all credibility in the eyes of his own party and can no longer be considered a viable holder of office

Laurence Dowell, Corby,

he is absolutely right. Labour have simply invented this so-called convention that the opposition does not comment on the pound as Ken Clarke rightly points out.an Alevel ecomonomics student and any one with an ounce of common sense knows that printing money(which borrowing is)will devalue the £

peter c, Devizes, Wessex