Will UK consumer spending increase this Christmas?

Had to slightly amend the wording of this question - as was correctly pointed out, it would be hard to find a direct correlation between Brown's VAT cut and consumer spending, so market has been reframed more objectively.

There's also no set defined 'christmas period' but I'm guessing that most reputable media sources will be in consensus.

Ok, I see what you're saying, but the settlement criteria are effectively the same 'A year on year gain over last Christmas' and I think that my wording of the original question, while strictly less accurate, was far more encompassing of the subject material, and made for a more interesting satirical take on the subject matter. Now it just seems a bit dry and irrelevant.

If you want satire read Private Eye.

isnt xmas spending that cool stuff u do before xmas?

just a note:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7799869.stm

if u read most of the article u will see this comment:

Stephen Robertson, BRC director general, said: "We'll see the full December figures in a few weeks, but they won't be pretty.

"Discounts and promotions on a scale unprecedented for the run-up to Christmas, combined with weak sales, have put margins under severe pressure.