UK economy grew by 0.1% but sees ‘disappointing drop’ in Budget uncertainty

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has asserted the new Labour Government is committed to growing the economy to improving peoples’ lives.

During her Autumn Budget, Reeves outlined her fiscal vision for the country which included raising National Insurance on employers.

Analysts assert that this “less robust” growth compared to previous quarters is due to uncertainty at the time of what would be included her Budget statement.

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The UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent last quarter

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Hailey Low, an associate economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research, shared: “”Today’s Q3 GDP figures, though less robust than in the first half of the year, reflect the impact of pre-budget uncertainty.

“More notably, it is disappointing that the Chancellor did not fully leverage her landmark budget last month to introduce measures addressing the UK’s low productivity growth, tackling growth inertia, and stimulating long-term economic growth.”

Joe Nellis, an economic adviser at MHA, added: “While a recording of 0.1 per cent growth in Q3 is a disappointing drop from the 0.7 per cent and 0.5 per cent in Q1 and Q2 this year respectively, this is unsurprising given the uncertainty in the build-up to the Budget leading to a more cautious approach to spending from businesses and consumers alike.

“Despite being only minor growth, we are still seeing an improvement on 2023’s Q3 figure of a 0.1 per cent contraction in the economy, and the yearly figure of one per cent GDP growth is the highest recorded since Q4 2022.

“The UK economy is still only in second gear, but it appears to be slowly moving forwards on the road to recovery as we look ahead to 2025.”

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Chancellor Rachel Reeves shared the Budget last month

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