The UK’s Economy Is Awful Because of Permanent Austerity
This week the UK was officially declared to be in a recession. The economy is suffering from a long-term refusal by the government to increase public investment — helping make Britain one of the worst economic performers among rich countries.
A man walks past a closing store in Cardiff, Wales, just before the UK announced that it is officially in a recession. (Matthew Horwood / Getty Images)
The UK is officially in recession. A recession is defined as two successive quarters of negative growth, and the UK has now reported negative growth in both the third and fourth quarters of 2023.
GDP fell by 0.3 percent from October to December 2023, after falling 0.1 percent in the previous quarter. No sector of the economy was immune from the contraction, with falling output registered across manufacturing, construction, and services.
The Office for National Statistics is now estimating that the UK economy grew by just 0.1 percent throughout 2023, meaning there was effectively no growth last year — the worst performance since 2009, following the financial crisis of 2008.
This article is for subscribers only. Please login or subscribe to access our full archives and beautiful print and digital magazine starting at just $3 a month.