Photo Gallery The UK Faces an Uncertain Future
Great Britain was hit hard by the financial crisis and the ensuing economic woes. Now, the country's public finances are in a shambles with a budget deficit even higher than that of Greece.
Tough austerity measures are needed to stop the bleeding. But many are concerned that too much savings could result in a stagnant economy. Already, unemployment has risen significantly since the beginning of 2008.
Prime Minister Gordon Brown is facing elections in May. The measures he has proposed to clean up his country's finances have been called insufficient by the European Commission.
Brown claims that up to 1.5 million highly qualified jobs will be created in the next five years -- needed to replace the hundreds of thousands of manufacturing jobs which have been lost in recent years. Here, the Corus steelworks in northern England. The company cut 2,000 jobs in 2009.
Brown's challenger, Conservative Party leader David Cameron, is not seen by the British public to possess the necessary economic know-how to lead the country back to economic health.
Many fear that the UK faces a difficult future -- perhaps even more difficult than during the administration of Iron Lady Margaret Thatcher.
