UK Economy Bounces Back

"Sorry, what political bias?"

Excellent posts Cunco and Urm.

Thanks Cunco for a reasoned post. Which won’t of course be welcomed by some on here. Doomsters and glum buckets who will jump in to denigrate the UK. The same punters who cried that Sterling was going to tank after the referendum result. WRONG‼️ The pound is exchanging at €1.19 today. Long may it continue.

But inflation hits the person in the street much harder than the wealthy who benefit most from economic “growth”.

Cunco

Well, thanks Whitewavemark2, for adding the inevitable political bias. I love the phrase 'languishing near the middle of the G7 ranking'!

Inflation is an issue for many countries and not surprising after the monetary ease and disruption caused by the pandemic. It is touching that people give so much credence to economic forecasters when, often enough, they get it wrong. I seem to recall the Bank of England saying not so long ago the the rise in inflation was temporary, caused by supply disruption.

I suspect inflation will get worse before I gets better and, if the 1970's is a guide, last longer and be harder to eradicate than people expect. That's not a forecast, just a fear.

Sorry what political bias?

Maybe growth in energy company dividends and Russian money laundering covers up what the growth in the economy really means for the average person.

Well, thanks Whitewavemark2, for adding the inevitable political bias. I love the phrase 'languishing near the middle of the G7 ranking'!

Inflation is an issue for many countries and not surprising after the monetary ease and disruption caused by the pandemic. It is touching that people give so much credence to economic forecasters when, often enough, they get it wrong. I seem to recall the Bank of England saying not so long ago the the rise in inflation was temporary, caused by supply disruption.

I suspect inflation will get worse before I gets better and, if the 1970's is a guide, last longer and be harder to eradicate than people expect. That's not a forecast, just a fear.

Oh! Meant to say with thanks to CNN

Whilst welcome, the figures do not tell the whole story. The growth numbers are pumped up because the United Kingdom endured the deepest recession of any major developed economy in 2020 and its worst performance since 1921, providing a lower base for subsequent comparison. also doesn't reflect what happened in the final three months of last year. UK GDP expanded 1% in the fourth quarter, according to ONS data published Friday. That trailed the United States (1.7%) and Canada (1.6%), which are both in the G7.
Even those statistics obscure a larger truth: the United Kingdom is hurtling toward its worst cost of living crisis in 30 years, the Bank of England expects unemployment to rise next year and growth to be "subdued," taxes are going up and new post-Brexit import controls could slam foreign trade.

A better way to measure performance is to compare current economic output with levels before the pandemic arrived. Here, the United Kingdom is languishing near the middle of the G7 ranking.

Johnson may be able to repeat his G7 claim without being slapped down by fact checkers. But it's less likely to land well with the British people, whose average disposable incomes after tax are forecast to decline by 2% this year.

The cost of living crisis is about to get much worse.

Inflation in the US is currently 7.5%.