Britain DID go into recession at the end of 2023, ONS confirms… but Jeremy Hunt says GDP has already started growing again after 'tough' spell

Jeremy Hunt insisted Britain is moving on from a ‘tough’ spell today as it was confirmed that the country dipped into recession last year.

Official figures formalised the downturn in the second half of 2023, although it was slightly smaller than initially thought.

GDP dropped by 0.5 per cent over that period, with two consecutive falls – the technical definition of a recession. However, the fourth quarter was marginally less grim, with a 0.31 per cent reduction in activity rather than 0.34 per cent.

Labour and the Lib Dems seized on the news to attack ‘Rishi’s Recession’, with an election looming potentially within months.

But Chancellor put a brave face on the update from the Office for National Statistics, pointing out that ‘interest rates had to rise to bring down inflation’.

Official figures formalised the downturn in the second half of 2023

Jeremy Hunt insisted Britain is moving on from a ‘tough’ spell

Mr Hunt insisted the ‘plan is working’, adding: ‘Inflation has fallen decisively from over 11 per cent to 3.4 per cent, the economy grew in January and real wages have increased for eight months in a row.’

Mr Hunt denied that Rishi Sunak had broken his promises on growth.

‘I don’t think any of us were expecting the economy to actually grow last year, the Bank of England wasn’t, the Office for Budget Responsibility wasn’t, in fact it did, albeit at a very slow rate,’ he told broadcasters.

‘That is a testament to the resilience of the economy but also the fact the Government took some very difficult decisions early on to make sure we got the economy back on track.’

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: ‘Our updated set of GDP figures shows quarterly growth unrevised across 2023, with a little growth in the first quarter and small contractions in the latter half of the year.

‘New figures on households show that savings remained high, with an increase in income in the last quarter of the year.’

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the Office for National Statistics’ confirmation that Britain has entered recession showed the Tories cannot claim their plan on the economy is working.

Labour’s shadow chancellor said: ‘Rishi Sunak has broken his promise to grow the economy and left Britain in recession with working people paying the price.

‘It is time for a change. Rishi Sunak should name the date for the election and give the British people the chance to vote for a changed Labour Party that has a long-term plan to grow the economy.’

Liberal Democrat MP Sarah Olney said: ‘These damning figures confirm the damage done to the UK economy by Rishi’s recession.

‘This Conservative government has no plan for growth or to help families paying the price for years of economic chaos through soaring mortgages and rents.’

The ONS has released its most accurate measure of the performance of the economy last year

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