Among the factors affecting the UK’s economic performance are high gas prices, rising interest rates and a sluggish trade performance.

The Tories have left the economy in such a perilous state, that the IMF now predicts that the UK economy will be the worst-performing out of all the major economies this year.

Even sanctions-hit Russia is set to perform better than the UK in both 2023 and 2024. The UK economy is expected to shrink by 0.3% in 2023 and then grow by 1% next year.

Among the factors affecting the UK’s economic performance are high gas prices, rising interest rates and a sluggish trade performance.

Brexit has also had a significant impact on the economy, with the Office for Budget Responsibility saying the decision to leave the EU will have a long-term effect of cutting UK GDP by a hefty 4%.

A leading official from the Bank of England has also said that a wave of business investment was “stopped in its tracks” by Brexit, dealing a blow to the UK economy worth £1,000 per households.

Jonathan Haskel, an external member of the Bank’s Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), said that there had been a productivity penalty since the referendum. He said that this amounted to about 1.3% of gross domestic product (GDP). “That 1.3% of GDP is about £29 billion, or roughly £1,000 per household”.

Sunak and the Tories have repeatedly pledged to grow the economy, yet the latest findings from the IMF show just how bad their record is.

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the IMF forecasts showed how far Britain continued to lag behind on the global stage. “This matters not just because 13 years of low growth under the Tories are weakening our economy, but because it’s why families are worse off, facing a Tory mortgage penalty and seeing living standards falling at their fastest rate since records began.”

Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward

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