GDP decline is not only Labour’s fault

Is the government going to create a recession out of thin air? This morning’s GDP figures from the Office of National Statistics are dire, showing that the economy contracted by 0.1 percent in October, following a similar fall in September.

We are still a long way from a recession being officially called – that would only happen after two quarters of negative growth. Despite today’s figures, the economy still managed to grow by 0.1 per cent in the three months to October, so it wouldn’t be until next spring at the earliest that we could officially fall into recession. Nevertheless, it is remarkable how quickly that confidence has crumbled. A week after Labour came to power in July, the ONS published growth figures showing that the economy had expanded by a strong 0.9 per cent in the three months to May. It seemed that a corner had finally been turned, and that Labour would be the lucky inheritor of much better economic times.