Britain breathes sigh of relief as growth hits 0.3%
By politics.co.uk staff
Fears of a double dip recession appear to have been temporarily put to bed as revised figures showed 0.3% growth in the UK economy.
The final three months of 2009 saw the economy grow by more than previously thought, following six consecutive quarters of contraction.
The original 0.1% assessment has now been replaced by the more robust 0.3%.
The news will be music to the ears to Labour, which was relying on an economic recovery for its electoral campaign.
“They are welcome figures, but I can’t stress enough we are living in a very uncertain time,” chancellor Alistair Darling told the BBC.
“We are coming through recession, we are moving towards recovery, but it is absolutely essental for us to retain support for the economy.”
Lib Dem Treasury spokesman Vince Cable urged caution.
“While it is welcome news that the economy has grown by more than had been previously estimated, the British economy is still weak,” he said.
“And with the government stimulus largely coming to an end last December it is highly likely growth will continue to be weak for some time.
“This news underlines again the folly of rushing into rapid cuts which could push the economy back into recession and inflict further structural damage on the UK, making it harder to sustain our credit rating and creating an even larger budget deficit.”
The UK was the last major economy to come out of recession.
