One swallow

It is said that "One swallow doesn't make a summer" and one bad news item doesn't make an economic downturn, but surely Tony and Gordon must be sleeping a little less peacefully these days as the tarnish appears to be coming off their "economic miracle" in the pre-election phony war. Retail sales have suffered the third year-on-year decline in four months, despite straddling the great Christmas bonanza whilst house prices continue to tread water. Should consumer confidence continue to stagnate, it will become increasingly difficult for voters to believe Gordon's economic vision when their own experiences are so very different. What's more, Tony's feathers must be ever so slightly ruffled with the very real prospect of negative equity on his £3.5m London pad.