Britain’s economy has accelerated by 0.7 per cent, new GDP figures reveal today.
George Osborne, the chancellor, said the figures showed that the British economy is “motoring ahead”. They were in line with the expectations for the quarter.
He is particularly pleased that the British economy is now producing as much per person as it was before the economic crisis.
The ONS said this morning that the growth announced today brings the per head output “broadly equal” to the pre-downturn peak in March 2008.
As with previous growth statements the figures reveal that it is largely Britain’s successful service sector providing the bulk of the growth, growing 0.7% in the last quarter. The UK’s comparatively smaller industrial sector increased by 1% while Britain’s agricultural output shrank by 0.7%.
The latest data shows that the UK economy has grown for 10 straight quarters.
Chris Leslie MP, Labour’s shadow chancellor, has concerns that Britain’s economy isn’t balanced enough to handle fresh problems posed by a slowing world economy.
He said: “The OBR has revised down productivity next year and for three years after that. Manufacturing is down by 0.3% and the Government is on course to miss its exports target by hundreds of billions of pounds.
“The Chancellor is complacent at a time when he should take action to support exporters and strengthen Britain’s infrastructure. Pulling the plug on major rail electrification and hitting households next April with a work penalty in the tax credit system are the wrong choices for the long term.”