A distinct creaking

Given the dependence of the Brown economy on property prices rising faster than incomes, this ought to cause concern:

HOUSE prices are rising more slowly than people’s wages, according to a survey of asking prices.

Rightmove, the property website, said that annual house-price inflation fell to just 2.4 per cent this month. This was down from 4.9 per cent in May, and well below the 4.6 per cent annual increase in people’s wages recorded by the Office for National Statistics last week.

If you sit quietly, you can just about hear the faint grinding and creaking behind Brown's swagger.