Economic downturn worst in '60 years' 英财相称英国经济遭遇六十年来最低迷期

Alistair Darling has warned that Britain's economic downturn will be the worst in 60 years.

Alistair Darling says Britain is facing its worst economic crisis since the 1940s. The chancellor is warning the current downturn will hit harder and last longer than we expect. It's the government's grimmest assessment to date of the situation facing the British economy. Mr. Darling says conditions here and abroad are now arguably the worst they’ve been for 60 years.

In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, he also admitted ministers had failed to explain the problem to voters, and that they were understandably angry with Labors’ handling of the situation. His comments are likely to prove controversial. They are much more negative than those expressed publicly by Gordon Brown.

However, Mr. Darling's remarks come after somewhat bad economic news.

House prices are falling at their fastest rate in 18 years, leading to fears of a wave of repossessions in the upcoming months.

Mortgage lending has slowed dramatically due to the credit crunch. And evidence suggests that Britain could be poised to go into a recession in the near future. The most recent GDP figures show no economic growth in the second quarter of the year, while building firms and retailers have laid off thousands of staff in recent weeks. Amid fears, things will deteriorate even further.

参考中文翻译：

Alistair Darling提出警告，英国经济遭遇60年来最低迷期。

Alistair Darling说，英国经济正面临上世纪40年代以来最严峻的情况。该英国大臣提出警告，目前的经济低迷将会比我们预期的更严重，持续时间更长。这是政府对当前英国经济形势的严酷评估。Mr. Darling 说，目前国内外的形势都无可辩驳的是60年来最糟糕的状况。

在英国卫报的采访中，他同样承认，政府官员没有及时成功的对选民作出解释，他们对工党的处理方式不满，这可以理解。但是他的言论却引发争议。他们比Gordon Brown在公开场合所表达的还要消极。

然而，Mr. Darling的评论来自一些列负面经济消息之后。

房价以18年来的最快速度下滑，引发了对未来几个月能否恢复的恐慌。

由于信用危机，抵押贷款急剧下降。有证据表明，英国不久就将进入萧条期。最近的GDP统计数据表明，今年第二季度，英国的经济没有任何增长，房地产公司和零售商在最近的几周裁员数千人。在极度恐慌中，形势会进一步恶化。