Source: AFP
Britain’s economy grew less than initially estimated in the second quarter, revised official data revealed on Monday, dealing another early blow to new Prime Minister Keir Starmer and the Labor government.
Gross domestic product (GDP) was 0.5% in the April-June period, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement, while economists had expected a 0.6% expansion.
Britain’s Labor government has made growing the UK economy a priority after winning a national election in early July, but has been sidetracked in its first months in office by the strained economic data and highly controversial decisions made by Starmer.
Britain’s economy had grown by 0.7% in the first quarter after a shallow and short-lived recession in the second half of last year.
However, UK inflation remains above the Bank of England’s interest rate target, slowing its path to rate cuts.
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Recent figures also showed Britain’s public debt rising to 100 percent of annual GDP – raising the possibility of bite-sized tax hikes in Labour’s maiden budget on October 30, analysts said.
The government is already facing criticism from all sides for scrapping a winter fuel allowance scheme for 10 million pensioners.
Meanwhile, over the weekend Labor handed in its first resignation as MP Rosie Duffield quit the party, accusing Starmer of “hypocrisy” over accepting freebies.
In a shock resignation letter, Duffield accused the prime minister of pursuing “cruel and unnecessary” policies.
“The philandering, nepotism and apparent avarice are off the scale,” he wrote, after it was revealed earlier this month that Starmer had accepted more than £100,000 ($132,000) in gifts and hospitality.
All gifts accepted were declared and none breach parliamentary rules.
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Labor overthrew the Conservatives in a landslide election victory after 14 years in opposition.
Source: AFP
