An article by the BBC today reports that the UK economy grew by 0.8% in the first quarter of 2014. It marks the fifth consecutive period of GDP growth – the longest positive run since the financial crisis. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) also said the economy is still 0.6% smaller than its 2008 peak.
Chancellor George Osborne said Tuesday’s figure showed that “Britain is coming back”, but that the recovery could not be taken for granted.
“The impact of the Great Recession is still being felt, but the foundations for a broad based recovery are now in place,” he added.
“The biggest risk to economic security would be abandoning the plan that is laying those foundations.”
Tuesday’s growth figure – the ONS’s first estimate for the quarter – is a slight increase on the 0.7% recorded in the final quarter of 2013. But many had been expecting it to be even higher, at 0.9%.