A: We may look at changing fuel types from petrol but we don't do long enough journeys to warrant a diesel.

The Toyota Aygo is, however, extremely good around town. As for downsizing, you can't get much smaller! We would however look at a hybrid.



Q. Some firms may be tempted to cut their advertising budgets as the credit crunch worsens. Is this wise when they should be competing harder for business?



A: Cutting advertising is commonplace when a market is hard. You have to ensure the reduced budget you have for advertising is allocated to the best possible areas.



Q. What is your advice to families finding themselves in negative equity with their homes?


A: It's an unfortunate situation to be in but my advice is to be patient, the housing market over the years has fluctuated and I'm sure the housing market will again pick up.

It has been proven time and time again, the housing market goes in cycles and each time all investments in bricks and mortar increase significantly, creating wealth.



Q. Now that Gordon Brown's popularity has plummeted against the Conservatives, what one measure could he take to redress the balance and why?

A: To be fair, I wouldn't advise a measure for him to take – apart from resigning.

I really don't think he is anywhere close to being a good enough leader for this country. Because of his mistakes with the HIPS and dealing with the interest rates, he will be losing billions in stamp duty.

Stamp duty is badly organised, it should be a sliding scale rather than the big jumps we have now. For example, your house may be worth £265,000, but buyers will not pay more than £250,000 because of the increase from 1 per cent to 3 per cent.

This leaves very large gaps in the marketplace. It would be better to have 0 per cent up to £125,000, 1 per cent on the difference between £125,000 to £200,000, 2 per cent on the difference between £200,000 to £300,000 and so on.