The bogey is off. In recent years Britain’s economy has experienced an annoying trend: growth in the first half of the year which completely died off in the second. Not so this year. Figures just released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show GDP expanded by 0.7 per cent between July and September.
Over the last year it means the economy is 1.9 per cent larger. The growth in the last quarter was made up of a 0.9 per cent expansion in services and 0.1 per cent in production. The construction sector, however, shrank by 0.7 per cent.
Nevertheless, even on the important per head measure, the economy has grown by 0.7 per cent in the quarter and by 1.7 per cent compared with the same period last year, despite rising energy costs and assorted global troubles.
It’s a golden gift for Healey and Burnham. They better not mess it up
ONS statisticians said that most of the growth we’ve seen this year was driven by the IT sector, specifically ones involved with AI and cloud computing.
Hopefully, then, the government decides not to go the way of America’s newly-elected Democrats and instead gets out of the way of the infrastructure projects that underpin AI developments.
The Chancellor John Healey said this morning: ‘The Middle East conflict has hit growth worldwide, yet Britain is showing standout resilience. Our UK economy is growing at the fastest rate in almost ten years, outside the pandemic.’
It’s a golden gift for Healey and Burnham. They better not mess it up.