Britain is bottom of the G7's growth league table. Excluding earthquake-hit Japan, Britain is growing more slowly than every other major developed economy.
Figures in today’s Independent suggest that Britain is bottom of the G7’s growth league table. Excluding Japan because of the “special factors” caused by the Tohoku earthquake, Britain is growing more slowly than every other major developed economy.
The graphic – reproduced below – accompanies an interview with Robert Chote, head of the independent Office for Budget Responsibility. Mr Chote warned that Britain was facing “relatively weak” growth over the next few months and was unlikely to hit the OBR’s own growth forecast. Britain grew by just 0.2 per cent in the second quarter. By comparison, the Independent’s figures suggest that Canada grew by 0.9 per cent, France by 0.7 per cent and even Italy and the US by 0.33 per cent.
In the interview, Mr Chote said:
“Back in March our central forecast was for 1.7 per cent growth this year, which at the time was fractionally more pessimistic than the average of the outside forecasters.
“Since then obviously we’ve had weaker out-turns in the first and second quarters than most people, including us, anticipated. For the second quarter the ONS [Office for National Statistics] explained a variety of one-off factors that contributed to that.
“As a simple matter of arithmetic, in order to get to 1.7 per cent now you’d be looking for quarter-on-quarter growth rates of 1 per cent in the second and third quarters of 2011, and there aren’t many people out there expecting that.”
Earlier this week, the National Institute of Economic and Social Research predicted that “domestic demand will hinder any meaningful recovery this year” with growth hitting just 1.3 per cent. They suggested that:
“short term fiscal policy is too tight, and a modest loosening would improve prospects for output and employment with little or no negative effect on fiscal credibility.”
If the OBR were forced to downgrade their growth estimates in the autumn, it would be the fourth time that they had done so since Alistair Darling left No 11 Downing Street.
27 Responses to “Britain is bottom of the G7’s growth table”
Leon Wolfson
Robert; How and where you cut is important. The Tories have front-loaded the cuts in ways Labour didn’t plan, and yes the difference in the total would have been important.
They also wouldn’t of cut corporation tax, would have stuck with the NI rise, not raised VAT and not upturned the NHS, although sadly probably done just about the same to Universities. Still, a good 1-1.5% growth right there…
Kevin Richards
Whats wrong George, it was the snow, then Royal wedding -Cricket this time?: Britain is bottom of the G7's growth table http://t.co/rXOpL3n
Ed's Talking Balls
Labour would have raised VAT. Before the election, none of Darling, Osborne or Cable ruled out an increase. In politician-speak, that’s as good as an admission. And they would certainly have done exactly the same with regard to university fees: Labour too was committed to implementing the recommendations of the Browne Review (having commissioned it themselves, not to mention having introduced fees in the first place).
‘Labour didn’t plan’, to be fair, is an accurate description of what passes for Labour economic policy. That blank sheet of paper remains pristine, too.
1-1.5% growth? I know wildly optimistic growth predictions are de rigueur nowadays, but let’s not go overboard…
Leon Wolfson
True, it’s probably a massive underestimate. The way growth has been slashed here is nothing sort of extraordinary. I can think of few
Also, even if it had gone up (and I don’t believe for a second that it’s more than propaganda from you), then it would have been taken back down again, as Labour have quite explicitly called for.
But of course, it’s always a clean sheet, because you won’t admit that Labour can do anything, it’s always the same old – unjustified – slurs. Typical Nasty Party – and there’s a justified one.
Plenty of cash for tax cuts for the rich, nothing but pain for the poor.
Also, screwing over the University system, destroying a system which was already failing the aspirations of the people this country so badly, is nothing to boast about. I’ve seen most of two University’s best research scientists quit (on redundancy schemes the University has had to offer because of the teaching budget being savaged by the Government) and go abroad to take up other posts in the last few weeks.
Yea, thanks for that. What a wonderful way of killing Britain’s future.
Leon Wolfson
…I can think of few better ways to do it. Grr, could of sworn I finished that sentence ><