Figures from the Office for National Statistics
this week have shown that the UK's economy grew by 2.6% last year.
The blue corner (and I guess yellow as well)
will tell you that this is the fastest pace of growth since 2007 and up from
1.7% in 2013. Chancellor George Osborne said the figures showed the economy was
"on track".
All good then?
Well......as the red corner have been very
quick to point out, the economy grew by 0.5% in the final three months of 2014,
which was a slowdown from 0.7% growth recorded in the previous three months. Shadow
chancellor Ed Balls said the slowdown in fourth-quarter growth was a concern,
and that "Tory claims that the economy is fixed will ring hollow with
working people" whose "wages are down by £1,600 a year since 2010 in
real terms".
Economists were mixed over whether the loss of
momentum in the final quarter might be temporary or prolonged. However, the
deceleration is not surprising in view of the flatlining of the UK's main
trading partner……the Eurozone.
One thing is for sure……the fourth-quarter
figure hardly set the world alight and it's clear that the UK economy is
slowing.
The biggest cloud looming large on the horizon
is the general election as there is no clear favourite and this creates
uncertainty.
Just don’t expect politicians to tell you that there
is political uncertainty though!
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