Order, order

21 May 2009 By Hugo Dixon Follow @hugodixon

With both the IMF and S&P warning about the country s finances, the UK needs to get a grip on the situation. Gordon Brown says calling an election in a recession would cause chaos. The truth is nobody is likely to take tough decisions before an election is out of the way.

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Gordon Brown dismissed calls on May 12 for an early election in response to public anger over recent government expenses scandal. Brown, who is currently behind in opinion polls, said reform would do more good than the "chaos" of a vote during a recession.

"Do you really want to see tomorrow, in the midst of the recession, while the government is dealing with this, the chaos of an election?" Brown told GMTV, a breakfast television show.

The International Monetary Fund urged the UK government on May 21 to bring public finances under control by cutting public spending or raising taxes once the economy recovers.

Standard & Poor's revised the outlook on the United Kingdom to negative from stable on May 21. It's 'AAA' longterm and 'A1+' shortterm sovereign credit ratings was affirmed.

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