‘Doom loop’: Has the UK actually made it out of a recession?
New figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) found GDP grew by 0.2% in January, reversing a 0.1% contraction in December.
To put it lightly, Britain’s economy has endured a roller-coaster of a year, but new statistics that were published by the ONS this morning have granted a spark of hope. The findings show that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) increased by 0.2% at the beginning of this year which makes up for the 0.1% decrease in December 2023.
However, despite the increase showing positive signs that the economy is improving, experts are trying not to get too excited just yet.
Barret Kupelian, chief economist at PwC, has claimed the latest growth, which occurred as a result of a surge in January retail sales, was part of a ‘post-pandemic trend of the UK suffering from sluggish economic activity’.
Kupelian has acknowledged there were signs of recovery but claimed Britain has been trapped in a ‘doom loop’.
The news follows a 0.3% decrease that happened during October and December last year -the move officially plunged Britain into a technical recession after the economy had already shrank between July and September.
Commenting on the latest increase, Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said: ‘The economy picked up in January with strong growth in retail and wholesaling. Construction also performed well with housebuilders having a good month, having been subdued for much of the last year.
‘These were partially offset by falls in TV and film production, lawyers and the often-erratic pharmaceutical industry.
‘Over the last three months as a whole, the economy contracted slightly.’
In addition, Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, said: ‘While the last few years have been tough, today’s numbers show we are making progress in growing the economy – part of which makes it possible to bring down national insurance contributions by £900 this coming year. But if we want the rate of growth to pick up more, we need to make work pay which means ending the unfairness of taxing work twice.’
Although, Rachel Reeves, Labour’s Shadow Chancellor, has claimed that a switch in political parties is the key to recovering Britain’s economy once and for all.
Ms Reeves said: ‘After 14 years of economic decline under the Conservatives, Britain is worse off. Rishi Sunak’s claims that his plan is working are already in tatters after Britain was hit by recession last year.’
Image: simon frederick
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