It backfired…
A Tory MP endured a car crash interview earlier today, has he tried to attack the Labour government over its performance on the economy, only for it to backfire.
Appearing on Sky News, Shadow Business and Trade Secretary Andrew Griffith, tried to claim that better than expected GDP figures which showed growth of 0.3% in the three months to the end of June, which was above the 0.1% forecast by the Bank of England, was not positive news.
He said: “It’s pretty much confirming we’re in a period of stagflation, that means the economy isn’t growing, but cost of living in ordinary people’s weekly shop is going up at a much faster rate, about ten times faster than the economy is growing, so we’re all getting poorer…”
Sky News presenter Wilfred Frost replied: “With all due respect Andrew, that sort of tone to the data would’ve been fair last month, where in May we did see a decline, but June was much better than expected, strong you’d even say, at 0.4, 0.5%, April was revised upwards and if you extrapolate the first half of the year, the annual rate is 2.2% but the first half of the year is showing the UK growing at the fastest pace in the G7 and stagflation is a bit of a leap, we haven’t got sharply rising unemployment…this month’s data was a lot better than expected.”
The better than expected growth figures are welcome news for Chancellor Rachel Reeves, and although the second quarter growth of 0.3% for this year is down on the 0.7% growth between January and March, it means that the UK economy has grown at nearly twice the rate of America’s over the same period – 1% compared to 0.6%.
Reeves said: “Today’s economic figures are positive with a strong start to the year and continued growth in the second quarter. But there is more to do to deliver an economy that works for working people.”
Basit Mahmood is editor of Left Foot Forward
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