Rare praise for Brown but economic prospects for the UK still look shaky

The IMF called the response “bold and far-reaching” and congratulated Brown’s government on its “aggressive” policies, which may have prevented an even worse outcome.

However the IMF’s financial forecast for Britain was still rather bleak as the high levels of personal debt among Brits means recovery is still going to be slow.  It also encouraged the government to devote their energies to reducing government spending so that Britain would be more resilient to financial shocks from abroad.

Alistair Darling said he expected the economy to be recovering soon, “I am not going to change my forecast.  I remain confident that we will see a return to growth by the end of the year.”