NEW figures on Britain’s economy showed that the country is on the brink of recession and “in need of intensive care” after 14 years of Tory financial mismanagement, unions warned today.
Britain’s GDP is estimated to have fallen by 0.2 per cent in the three months to November, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The ONS also found that manufacturing output was down 1.9 per cent, construction down 0.6 per cent and services industries flatlining at zero growth.
Unions and Labour warned of a worsening crisis facing many working people.
TUC general secretary Paul Nowak said: “This year begins with another set of dismal growth figures.
“The Conservatives’ economic failures are hitting jobs and living standards and starving our crumbling public services of much-needed funding.
“Despite being in power for 14 years, the Tories still don’t have a proper economic plan for getting us out of the mess they have created.
“They have turned the UK into a stagnation nation.”
Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: “Today’s figures only confirm what workers see and hear every single day.
“Our economy needs intensive care as the result of low investment, crumbling infrastructure and a cost-of-living crisis which makes daily life unaffordable.
“This is a result of choices made by our politicians over many years. It’s time we invested to improve the economy for the benefit of all.”
Labour’s shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said: “The Conservatives have presided over 14 years of economic failure that has left working people worse off.
“A decade of low economic growth has left Britain with the highest tax burden in 70 years, with families set to be £1,200 a year worse off under the Tories’ tax plans.
“It’s time for change. Rishi Sunak should call an election and give the people the chance to vote for a Labour government that will get Britain’s future back.”
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak had pledged at the start of 2023 to “grow the economy,” leading some experts to say the target could have been missed as a result of broadly flat GDP over the year.
The ONS’s chief economist Grant Fitzner said: “The longer-term picture remains one of an economy that has shown little growth over the last year.”
Chancellor Jeremy Hunt said that tax cuts announced in November would boost Britain’s longer-term prospects.
