Why is the UK immune from bankruptcy?

[Doggy Styles]

Can someone give a plausible explanation as to why Ireland, Portugal and Spain are basket cases, but the UK isn't.

When does the UK have to "roll over" it's loans?

They all took the piss after joining the euro, so their deficits are worse, and they have less control over their own economies to put it right.

We, on the other hand, got rid of the Labour party, which massively raised market confidence in our ability to pay back.

[OwlHoot]

Can someone give a plausible explanation as to why Ireland, Portugal and Spain are basket cases, but the UK isn't.

When does the UK have to "roll over" it's loans?

As well as the other reasons people have given, I read somewhere that British Government bonds and gilts have a longer maturity time, ten years and twenty years and suchlike, instead of the two or three years which countries like Greece and Ireland have issued theirs. So obviously that helps stabilize the British bond market.

[scooterscot]

We're not immune and neither have we woken up from the causes of the crisis. QE does nothing significant to solve the long term problems but like someone said, buys you time.

The banks still continue to pay out 1/2 million pound bonuses while joe blogs worries if he'll have a job tomorrow.

The structure of our economy deeply flawed and hopelessly dependant on an unethical banking that exploits someone much poorer than ourselves all so that our standard of living can be maintained.

[DimPrawn]

The structure of our economy deeply flawed and hopelessly dependant on an unethical banking that exploits someone much poorer than ourselves all so that our standard of living can be maintained.

Phew! Had me worried for a minute there!

[VectraMan]

Uk still has most of its national debt in GBP. So printy printy!

How does that work? If somebody outside Britain lends Britain some money but does it in GBP, and then Britain deliberately devalues GBP, in effect that's defaulting on part of the loan. Why would anyone lend Britain money in GBP?

[TimberWolf]

Isn't it increasingly Britain lending Britain the money printy printy?

[MarillionFan]

It's not as if that Iceland and Ireland become any cheaper either.

In the past basket case countries like Greece would have defaulted, the currency plummet and then every man and his dog would holiday there!

[lukemg]

Despite all the doom and gloom and yes we are in a fair amount of trouble, Britain is still a big economy, 5th biggest in the world and much of that economy is still productive wheras Ireland is tiny in comparison and much of the perceived wealth was an illusory bubble. Once that burst there wasn't much left, over here, we still have some stuff to fall back on - not enough in my opinion but some.

[AtW]

Ireland will be laughing if it has to pay us back in Pounds then. We might have insisted they pay back with today's equivalent gold value.

You can't demand to be paid back in gold if you lend in paper.

[TimberWolf]

Newsnight last night was full of doom an gloom again. The 3 distinguished economists (Will Hutton, Irwin Stelzer and Gillian Tett) were speaking of contagion, financial crisis and questioning whether the Euro would survive. Portugal may be next. I think they were pretty much in agreement though that inflation is acoming, with more printing globally to come.

So yet again those with houses are sitting pretty.