It also marks the first time the UK has fallen into recession since the first half of 2020.
London, UK:
Britain fell into recession late last year due to high inflation and a cost-of-living crisis, dealing a heavy blow to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak ahead of this year’s election.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement that gross domestic product shrank by 0.3% in the fourth quarter of 2023, following a 0.1% contraction in the previous three months.
This plunged the economy into a recession, in which gross domestic product declines for two consecutive quarters.
The news is a major blow for Sunak, who has vowed to make economic growth one of his five priorities.
His ruling Conservatives currently trail Keir Starmer’s main opposition Labor Party ahead of the general election.
It also marks the first time the UK has fallen into recession since the first half of 2020, when the economy was hit hard by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: “Our preliminary estimates point to a contraction in the UK economy in the fourth quarter of 2023.”
“While it has now shrunk for two consecutive quarters, the overall economy is broadly flat in 2023.
“All major industries declined during the quarter, with manufacturing, construction and wholesale being the biggest drags on economic growth.”
Responding to the figures, Finance Minister Jeremy Hunt added that “high inflation is the biggest obstacle to economic growth”.
The recession news came a day after another official data showed that UK inflation remained at 4.0% in January compared with December, twice the Bank of England’s target interest rate.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
