{"id":855175,"date":"2025-06-12T22:12:02","date_gmt":"2025-06-13T03:12:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/12\/uk-gdp-grows-0-7-in-unexpected-piece-of-good-news-for-embattled-rachel-reeves\/"},"modified":"2025-06-12T22:12:02","modified_gmt":"2025-06-13T03:12:02","slug":"uk-gdp-grows-0-7-in-unexpected-piece-of-good-news-for-embattled-rachel-reeves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/2025\/06\/12\/uk-gdp-grows-0-7-in-unexpected-piece-of-good-news-for-embattled-rachel-reeves\/","title":{"rendered":"UK GDP grows 0.7% in unexpected piece of good news for embattled Rachel Reeves"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"maincontainer\">\n<header role=\"banner\">\n<h2> <a id=\"express-logo\" href=\"http:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/\" data-link-tracking=\"Header|MainLogo|Image|Express\"> <span>Express. 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with the better-than-expeced figures bringing some relief to Chancellor Rachel Reeves after months of scrutiny.<\/h2>\n<div>\n<div>\n<p><span>By\u00a0<\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/journalist\/122676\/Ciaran-McGrath\"><span>Ciaran McGrath<\/span><\/a>, Senior News Reporter<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><time datetime=\"2025-05-15T07:06:00Z\"> <span>07:06, Thu, May 15, 2025<\/span> <\/time> <time datetime=\"2025-05-15T08:34:23Z\"> | UPDATED: <span>08:34, Thu, May 15, 2025<\/span> <\/time><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n<div data-type=\"article-body\">\n<div>\n<p><picture><source type=\"image\/avif\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:10000px)\"><source type=\"image\/webp\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:10000px)\"><source type=\"image\/jpeg\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:10000px)\"><source type=\"image\/avif\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:100000px)\"><source type=\"image\/webp\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:100000px)\"><source type=\"image\/jpeg\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:100000px)\"><source type=\"image\/avif\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:1200px)\"><source type=\"image\/webp\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:1200px)\"><source type=\"image\/jpeg\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:1200px)\"><source type=\"image\/avif\"  media=\"screen\"><source type=\"image\/webp\"  media=\"screen\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/1\/1200x712\/secondary\/Chancellor-Rachel-Reeves-6163226.jpg?r=1747294463204\" alt=\"Cabinet Meeting in Downing Street in London\" title=\"Cabinet Meeting in Downing Street in London\" width=\"590\" height=\"393\"><\/picture><\/p>\n<p><span>Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the figures &#8216;show the strength and potential of the UK economy&#8217; <span>(Image: Getty)<\/span><span data-img=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/1\/1200x712\/secondary\/Chancellor-Rachel-Reeves-6163226.jpg?r=1747294463204\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>The UK <a data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|Link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/latest\/economy\">economy<\/a> grew at the fastest rate in a year over the first quarter of 2025, providing an unexpected boost for Chancellor <a data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|Link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/latest\/rachel-reeves\">Rachel Reeves<\/a>, new official figures show. Gross domestic product (<a data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|Link\" href=\"http:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/latest\/gdp\">GDP<\/a>) increased by 0.7% between January and March, the Office for National Statistics said.<\/p>\n<p>This means it came in ahead of economists&#8217; expectations of 0.6% growth for the quarter. It was also the highest GDP rate since the first quarter of 2024, when the economy jumped by 0.9%. Ms Reeves said the figures &#8220;show the strength and potential of the UK economy&#8221;. She said: &#8220;Up against a backdrop of global uncertainty we are making the right choices now in the national interest.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><picture><source type=\"image\/avif\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:10000px)\"><source type=\"image\/webp\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:10000px)\"><source type=\"image\/jpeg\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:10000px)\"><source type=\"image\/avif\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:100000px)\"><source type=\"image\/webp\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:100000px)\"><source type=\"image\/jpeg\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:100000px)\"><source type=\"image\/avif\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:1200px)\"><source type=\"image\/webp\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:1200px)\"><source type=\"image\/jpeg\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:1200px)\"><source type=\"image\/avif\"  media=\"screen\"><source type=\"image\/webp\"  media=\"screen\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/1\/1200x712\/secondary\/Shadow-Chancellor-Mel-Stride-6163237.jpg?r=1747294463223\" alt=\"UK Daily Politics 2025\" title=\"UK Daily Politics 2025\" width=\"590\" height=\"393\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/picture><\/p>\n<p><span>Shadow Chancellor Mel Stride claimed Labour had still left Britons &#8216;worse off&#8217; <span>(Image: Getty)<\/span><span data-img=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/1\/1200x712\/secondary\/Shadow-Chancellor-Mel-Stride-6163237.jpg?r=1747294463223\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Prime Minister Sir <a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/latest\/keir-starmer\" data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|AutoLink\">Keir Starmer<\/a> said the figures showed he was meeting his goal of having the highest growth in the G7 group of advanced economies.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But I know the Tory cost-of-living crisis isn&#8217;t over &#8211; we will go further and faster to deliver for working people,&#8221; Sir Keir said.<\/p>\n<p>Ms Reeves acknowledged that there was &#8220;more to do&#8221;, with the latest ONS figures covering the period before tax rises and US President <a href=\"http:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/express.co.uk\/latest\/donald-trump\" data-link-tracking=\"InArticle|AutoLink\">Donald Trump<\/a>&#8216;s &#8220;liberation day&#8221; tariff announcements.<\/p>\n<p>Company national insurance contributions increased from April, which some economists have said will force firms to cut jobs.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>And the US has imposed a 10% blanket tariff on most UK goods entering the world&#8217;s biggest economy, which is expected to directly impact exporters and has led to heightened uncertainty affecting businesses and households.<\/p>\n<p>The latest figures show that economic growth slowed to 0.2% in March, from 0.5% in February, as activity among UK factories began to slump.<\/p>\n<p>Shadow chancellor Sir Mel Stride pointed out that both the Office for Budget Responsibility and the International Monetary Fund had downgraded short-term growth forecasts on the back of tariff uncertainty.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Labour inherited the fastest-growing economy in the G7, but their decisions have put that progress at risk,&#8221; he said, adding that national insurance hikes &#8211; which he branded as &#8220;jobs tax&#8221; &#8211; were making people worse off.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>  <span><\/span> <span>Invalid email<\/span><\/p>\n<p>We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you&#8217;ve consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. Read our <a href=\"http:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/privacy-notice\">Privacy Policy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Liz McKeown, ONS director of economic statistics, said: &#8220;The economy grew strongly in the first quarter of the year, largely driven by services, though production also grew significantly, after a period of decline.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Growth in services was broad based, with wholesale, retail and computer programming all having a strong quarter as did car leasing and advertising.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;These were only slightly offset by falls in education, telecoms and legal services.&#8221;<\/p>\n<p>The services sector jumped by 0.7% over the quarter, compared with the last three months of 2024, with administrative and support service activities surging by 3.3%.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><picture><source type=\"image\/avif\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:10000px)\"><source type=\"image\/webp\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:10000px)\"><source type=\"image\/jpeg\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:10000px)\"><source type=\"image\/avif\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:100000px)\"><source type=\"image\/webp\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:100000px)\"><source type=\"image\/jpeg\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:100000px)\"><source type=\"image\/avif\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:1200px)\"><source type=\"image\/webp\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:1200px)\"><source type=\"image\/jpeg\"  media=\"screen and (min-width:1200px)\"><source type=\"image\/avif\"  media=\"screen\"><source type=\"image\/webp\"  media=\"screen\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/1\/1200x712\/secondary\/Rachel-Reeves-with-Prime-Minister-Sir-Keir-Starmer-6163293.jpg?r=1747294463289\" alt=\"The King And The Queen Attend Concert To Mark The 80th Anniversary Of VE Day\" title=\"The King And The Queen Attend Concert To Mark The 80th Anniversary Of VE Day\" width=\"590\" height=\"393\" loading=\"lazy\"><\/picture><\/p>\n<p><span>Rachel Reeves with Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer <span>(Image: Getty)<\/span><span data-img=\"https:\/\/cdn.images.express.co.uk\/img\/dynamic\/1\/1200x712\/secondary\/Rachel-Reeves-with-Prime-Minister-Sir-Keir-Starmer-6163293.jpg?r=1747294463289\"><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p>Retail trade increased by 1.4% over the quarter, while sports and recreation activities picked up by 5.8% in March as warmer weather swept across the UK.<\/p>\n<p>Consumer-facing services rose by 0.9% in the first quarter, indicating relative strength among households ahead of a swathe of bills rising from April, including energy and water.<\/p>\n<p>Elliott Jordan-Doak, senior UK economist for Pantheon Macroeconomics, said the first-quarter data shows &#8220;the economy holding up well heading into the trade war&#8221;, which is expected to &#8220;hurt growth in 2025 and 2026&#8221;.<\/p>\n<p>He added: &#8220;The UK&#8217;s new trade deal with the US rules out the worst-case scenario for tariffs, at least for now.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;But we think the radical uncertainty unleashed by the trade war will persist, weighing on investment and consumer confidence.&#8221;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<div data-lazy-function=\"toparticles\">\n<header>\n<h3>Trending<\/h3>\n<\/header>\n<ul><\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div>\n<p><strong>Main points:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>\n<p>UK gross domestic product (GDP) is estimated to have grown by 0.7% in Quarter 1 (Jan to Mar) 2025, following growth of 0.1% in the previous quarter.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>In output terms, growth in Quarter 1 2025 was driven by an increase of 0.7% in the services sector, production also grew, by 1.1%, while the construction sector showed no growth.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>In expenditure terms, growth in the latest quarter was driven by increases in gross fixed capital formation, net trade and household consumption.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Nominal GDP is estimated to have increased by 1.6% in Quarter 1 2025, mainly driven by an increase in compensation of employees.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<li>\n<p>Real GDP per head is estimated to have grown by 0.5% in Quarter 1 2025, following two consecutive quarterly falls.<\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.express.co.uk\/news\/uk\/2055393\/uk-gdp-grows-07-economy\" class=\"button purchase\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Express. Home of the Daily and Sunday Express. HOME News Politics Royal Showbiz &amp; TV Sport Finance Travel Life &amp; Style Comment UK World Politics Royal US Weather Science History Weird Nature InYourArea All eyes were on the crucial data this morning &#8211; with the better-than-expeced figures bringing some relief to Chancellor Rachel Reeves after<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":855176,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4032,26260],"tags":[10824,10364],"class_list":{"0":"post-855175","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-grows","9":"tag-grows","10":"tag-unexpected"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855175","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=855175"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/855175\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/855176"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=855175"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=855175"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/newsycanuse.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=855175"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}