For some reason the prime minister likes round numbers, whether £1bn for fuel poverty, £1bn for the housing market, 3 million new homes or 1,000 troops home for Christmas. (All of which have turned out to be a tad flakey).

Perhaps the former Chancellor believes that £1bn is enough to turn around the vast, £5,000bn, housing market (would he sanction the purchase of £1bn of Vodafone shares to prevent a stock market downturn?)

One can imagine him sitting around a table, in the style of Austin Powers’ Dr Evil, who - after being frozen for 40 years - tried to impress his henchmen with a plan to hold the world for ransome for…….ONE MILLION DOLLARS.

September 11, 2008 5:55pm in Gordon Brown, Housing, UK economy, UK politics | Comment