•The British flag
Britain’s economy will grow faster than forecast this year and next, the country’s finance minister Rachel Reeves announced today as she delivered her maiden budget.
The nation’s gross domestic product will expand 1.1 percent in 2024 and by 2.0 percent next year — above estimates given in March by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), Britain’s fiscal watchdog.
Reeves gave her update to parliament alongside the new Labour government’s tax and spending plans following its landslide election victory in July, ending 14 years of rule by the Conservatives, reports AFP.
“This government was given a mandate. To restore stability to our country and to begin a decade of national renewal,” Reeves told MPs Wednesday.
“To fix the foundations and deliver change through responsible leadership in the national interest. That is our task. And I know we can achieve it.”
Reeves insisted that “the only way to drive economic growth is to invest, invest, invest”.
The OBR earlier this year predicted that the UK economy would grow 0.8 percent in 2024 and by 1.9 percent in 2025.
Since then, Britain has benefited from the country’s annual inflation rate dropping to under the Bank of England’s 2.0-percent target, easing a cost-of-living crisis.
The International Monetary Fund this month estimated that Britain’s economy would also grow 1.1 percent in 2024.
Looking beyond next year, the OBR today downgraded Britain’s growth forecasts for the 2026-2028 period.
