Gordon Brown promised an end to the boom and bust ecomony but we have seen that it doesn't matter who is in power we always experience these cycles until us Brits stop acting like sheep and start adopting a more European attitude to property ownership and attitude to dept. If you haven't got a decent deposit or can't buy something out right you can't afford it. The trouble is there are far too many people with maggots between their ears for the banks to take advantage of, the banks never lose out.