According to official figures released on Friday, Britain’s economy grew by 0.7% in the first quarter of this year, surpassing initial estimates of 0.6% growth. This news comes just days before the upcoming election where Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is expected to replace Conservative Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
The Office for National Statistics data confirms that Britain’s economy has emerged from a shallow recession at the beginning of 2024. However, the overall growth picture remains weak as first-quarter gross domestic product was only 0.3% higher compared to the previous year, slightly better than the initial estimate of 0.2%.
Economists surveyed by Reuters did not anticipate any revisions to the quarterly or annual growth estimates. Since the last national election in December 2019, Britain’s economy has faced challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had a lasting impact on the labor force, along with factors such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and post-Brexit trade frictions.
The economic outlook for Britain remains uncertain as the country navigates through these various challenges. It will be interesting to see how the economy continues to perform as new leadership potentially takes office in the near future.