The Government has finally decided to nationalise Northern Rock.

Harlow Liberal Democrats say: This decision is welcome but was also inevitable and should have been taken last year. Instead, Gordon Brown and Alistair Darling have been paralysed by their own indecision. They put off the only sensible course of action right until the very end. This is hardly a sensible way to run the Government.

Had Labour followed the advice of Liberal Democrat Shadow Chancellor Vince Cable last year, the uncertainty that has been so damaging to Northern Rock and to the British economy would have been avoided.

The Conservative proposal that Northern Rock should be put into administration and run down would be a disaster. Not only would this not get taxpayers' money back any faster, but it would be the one way to guarantee that every single job at the bank would be lost. Temporary nationalisation will not be easy for Northern Rock, but it at least offers hope that the bank can have a long-term future and eventually be sold when conditions are better.