NEF responds to latest growth figures
GDP statistics show UK is still sick man of the rich world
10 November 2023
Responding to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics which show the UK’s economy failed to grow in the third quarter of 2023, Lydia Prieg, Head of Economics at the New Economics Foundation, said:
“Today’s growth figures tell the same old story: the UK is the sick man of the rich world. We have one of the weakest post-pandemic recoveries in the G7. Why? Because a lack of investment over the past decade made us a poorer nation today.
“We have some of the highest energy bills in the world, which means less money for people to spend in the shops. Why? Because this government did not invest in insulation and renewables. Our workforce is shrinking because falling investment in our NHS meant people are too sick to work. A lack of public investment in green industries and infrastructure has led to lower wages at home.
“We need to invest to make the British people more prosperous. Invest in renewables and home insulation to get energy bills down. Invest in the NHS and schools so that healthy, well-educated adults can actually go to work. And invest in green industry and infrastructure to get growth and wages rising again.”
Notes
Lydia Prieg, Head of Economics at the New Economics Foundation, is available for comment.
The New Economics Foundation is a charitable think tank. We are wholly independent of political parties and committed to being transparent about how we are funded.
