The latest monthly data suggest that the UK economy is sliding back into recession. GDP rose a measly 0.1% in November or, more precisely, just 0.07%, which reversed less than half of the falls in the previous two months. The best we can hope for now is that GDP was flat in the fourth quarter as a whole. Even this would require a stronger December, which looks unlikely given the weakness in the business surveys.
The figures out today are a step in the right direction, but there's much, much more we've got to do and that we will do. We're going to be unrelenting when it comes to driving our economy forward - changing the planning rules, changing regulation.
This new Government has come in with a determination, a number one mission, to grow the economy. That takes time.
The UK is not yet in recession in terms of overall GDP, but output per head did fall in the third quarter of last year and almost certainly did so again in the fourth. The most likely scenario is still a shallow downturn, with inflation only rising a little further and unemployment remaining relatively low.
Collection
[
|
...
]