MINISTERS must not choke off Britain’s stalled economic recovery, the TUC, opposition leaders — and some Tories — warned today.

As official figures revealed a 0.1 per cent rise in gross domestic product (GDP) in July — just 10 per cent of the previous month’s increase — the union confederation urged the government not to stress the economy further by going ahead with its £20 cut to universal credit (UC).

Labour accused ministers of holding the recovery back by adding 1.25 percentage points to national insurance contributions — a 10 per cent increase in the rate — and imposing the “devastating” UC cut.

And there was growing disquiet in Tory ranks as Andy Street, the Conservatives’ most prominent “red wall” mayor, said that he was “very concerned” about the impact of the cut on the West Midlands.

The July GDP figure was well below the 0.5 per cent that many economists had predicted, drawing bravado from Chancellor Rishi Sunak, who intoned: “I am confident that — supported by our plan for jobs — we’ll continue to recover from the pandemic, we’ll see more new jobs and we will build back better.”

But TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The recovery is still very uncertain, and with universal credit cuts and furlough ending, the Chancellor is about to put the economy under greater stress.

“To protect the recovery, the government must continue supporting workers and businesses in hard-hit industries.

“This should include a permanent short-time working scheme, and at the spending review, the Chancellor must bolster demand by making sure all key workers get the proper pay rise they have earned.”

Labour shadow chief secretary to the Treasury Bridget Phillipson charged that “Conservative complacency” was holding the recovery back.

She said: “The government has no plan, other than to plough ahead with a tax on jobs as well as a devastating cut to universal credit, taking money out of our high streets just when it is needed most.”

Fears about the wider effects of the UC cut were underscored by think tank the Health Foundation, which warned in a report that the greatest impact would be felt in areas that already had the worst health and that it would lead to declining mental and physical wellbeing.

The foundation calculated that the average loss of family income in the 10 per cent of local authorities with the worst health would be almost twice that in the 10 per cent with the best.

Its warning was echoed by Tory West Midlands mayor Andy Street, who told the i newspaper that he was “very, very alert to, concerned by, thinking about how we mitigate the effect of this on individual working people and those claiming benefits.”

Mr Street’s concerns are shared by a growing number of his party’s MPs, about 50 of whom are understood to have urged a rethink, some suggesting that the government could lose a Commons vote on the issue.

Withdrawal of the £20 UC uplift will hit an estimated 5.5 million families and is unanimously opposed by charities and campaigners, including Manchester United football star Marcus Rashford.

Labour shadow work and pensions secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Mr Street and dissenting Tory MPs to “stick up for their constituents and local economies and get on the phone to Boris Johnson to tell him to cancel their cut to universal credit.”

Mr Reynolds said: “The Conservatives have been warned repeatedly about the impact this cut will have on people’s incomes.

“The government’s own analysis of this cut was that it would be ‘catastrophic,’ but still it’s pushing ahead.”