The United Kingdom has slipped into recession, official figures showed Thursday, just months ahead of a general election, derailing Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s pledge to generate economic growth.
Gross domestic product fell 0.3% in the final three months of 2023, following a 0.1% contraction in the July-to-September period, the Office for National Statistics said. A recession is commonly defined as two consecutive quarters of contraction.
“All the main sectors fell on the quarter, with manufacturing, construction and wholesale being the biggest drags on growth, partially offset by increases in hotels and rentals of vehicles and machinery,” ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said in a statement.
“Across 2023 as a whole the economy has been broadly flat.”
The ONS estimates that UK GDP increased by 0.1% last year — the weakest growth since 2009 in the midst of a global financial crisis, if 2020, which was affected by the pandemic, is excluded. That follows growth of 4.3% in 2022.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
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