SIR - Is the UK being sleep walked into recession? It seems so to me lead by the Governor of the Bank of England, aided and abetted by the new Chancellor, all the Media and many inexperienced MPs!

I am 80-years-old, lived through several boom and bust scenarios, yet there has never been a recession with 1.3 million vacancies! Previously three million unemployed or more would have been the normal expectation?

At the same time the UK has 5.3 million welfare claimants of various types, including two million people with part time jobs also taking Universal Credit to top up to a full wage, more than enough to fill all the national vacancies.

I feel that welfare levels are far too generous! Yet it appears the government is considering increasing universal credit by the full inflation rate rather than the lower cost of living index. They will never return to work!

If millions become unemployed it will be quite illuminating how many will turn out for work with all the alleged badly paid NHS, teaching, rail workers etc staff, threatening prolonged strikes.

Alan Chapman, Beck Lane, Bingley