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 Falling property prices have left the chancellor with a £5 billion black hole, according to a leading Liberal Democrats figure.
The housing market has suffered a considerable slump over the past few months, with prices and mortgage applications falling and arrears and repossessions rising.
Now Lord Oakeshott, the Lib Dem Treasury spokesman, has claimed that the stalling of the residential and commercial markets is leading to decreased stamp duty revenues.
He said: "Gordon Brown let Britain's house party get out of control. Now Alistair Darling has been left with a £5 billion stamp duty hangover.
"The chancellor had hardly sat down on budget day before the housing market fell off a cliff in early April."
The party predicts that property prices will have fallen by 15 per cent by the end of the year, while transaction levels could be down by as much as 50 per cent.
Lord Oakeshott added that a mortgage famine may be just around the corner, with opportunistic buyers likely to create huge numbers of knock-down price sales.
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