UK economy to grow faster than estimated in 2024/25 — Finance minister

The UK economy will grow faster than estimated for 2024/25, finance minister, Rachel Reeves announced on Wednesday while delivering her maiden budget.

The nation’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will expand by 1.1 per cent in 2024 and by 2.0 per cent next year, above estimates given in March by the Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR), Britain’s fiscal watchdog.

Reeves disclosed this to parliament alongside the new Labour government’s tax and spending plans following its landslide election victory in July, ending 14 years of rule by the Conservatives.

Reeves said, “This government was given a mandate. To restore stability to our country and to begin a decade of national renewal.

“To fix the foundations and deliver change through responsible leadership in the national interest. That is our task. And I know we can achieve it.

“The only way to drive economic growth is to invest, invest, invest.”

The OBR earlier this year predicted that the UK economy would grow 0.8 percent in 2024 and by 1.9 percent in 2025.

Since then, Britain has benefited from the country’s annual inflation rate dropping to under the Bank of England’s 2.0-percent target, easing a cost-of-living crisis.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) this month estimated that Britain’s economy would also grow 1.1 percent in 2024.

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