
Why slow GDP figures could be good for the Tories
Are today’s GDP figures really a blow to George Osborne as some of his critics are claiming? The Office for National Statistics said today that GDP grew by just 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year, which is half what it was in the last three months of 2014. [datawrapper chart=”http://static.spectator.co.uk/oNkRJ/index.html”] What’s holding growth back is weak output in the construction, industrial and services sectors. Ed Balls managed to resist launching into his Ed Balls Day celebrations too early and said ‘these figures show they have not fixed the economy for working families’. [datawrapper chart=”http://static.spectator.co.uk/FUzL6/index.html”] The figures do suggest that the economy isn’t going gangbusters. But politically,
