WIREDGOV

Ben Jones, CBI Lead Economist, responds to latest quarterly GDP data

“This latest data is better than expected and suggests the economy was more resilient towards the end of last year than earlier figures implied – with revisions pointing to less of a slowdown than previously feared.

“While growth is likely to remain moderate, the economy should still expand at a steady pace through 2026 as inflation eases and real incomes rise modestly. However, business investment is likely to remain fairly subdued amid soft demand conditions, high labour and energy costs and supply-side bottlenecks.

“Lowering the cost of doing business must now be the government’s priority to unlock investment and growth. Recent pragmatism shown on areas such as day one rights is welcome, but further progress is dependent on greater policy clarity more generally – best achieved by working in partnership with business.”