The latest official data are perhaps not as bad as some headlines suggest, but they do confirm that the UK economy made a poor start to 2025. First, the raw numbers. Monthly GDP fell by 0.1% in January, against the consensus forecast of a 0.1% rise, led by a 0.9% fall in the production sector … Continue reading UK economy on a knife edge
Tag: news
Should overseas aid be cut to fund more spending on defence?
This week the Prime Minister announced that UK defence spending will now be raised from 2.3% to 2.5% of national income in 2027, funded by cutting overseas aid from 0.5% to 0.3%. The politics around this switch are controversial – the minister responsible for aid has just resigned in protest – but the economics is … Continue reading Should overseas aid be cut to fund more spending on defence?
Is the “booming net zero economy” really a key driver of growth?
On Monday the Energy and Climate Intelligence Unit published a report by CBI Economics which generated plenty of uncritical headlines about the “booming net zero economy”. In particular, the report claimed that the total economic value (GVA) generated by the sector grew by 10.1% last year, and that this supported the equivalent of 951,000 full-time … Continue reading Is the “booming net zero economy” really a key driver of growth?
Fourth quarter GDP ‘boost’ is nothing to cheer
The first official figures for UK GDP in the final quarter of last year may not have been quite as bad as expected, but it says a lot that some are keen to trumpet economic growth of just 0.1% as ‘good news' and a much-needed 'boost' for Rachel Reeves. Quarterly growth of at least 0.4% … Continue reading Fourth quarter GDP ‘boost’ is nothing to cheer
Plain-speaking Economics 