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The UK economy has officially entered recession as a result of falling gross domestic product (GDP), spelling trouble for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak in a general election year as he had made “growing the economy” a key plank of his premiership.
Latest UK Office for National Statistics (ONS) data on Thursday revealed that the country’s GDP shrank 0.3 per cent between October and December 2023 and by 0.1 per cent in the July to September quarter. A recession is defined as two consecutive three-month periods where the economy contracts rather than grows.
“High inflation is the single biggest barrier to growth which is why halving it has been our top priority. While interest rates are high – so the Bank of England can bring inflation down – low growth is not a surprise,” said UK Chancellor Jeremy Hunt, in response to the statistics.
