The British economy increased 0.6 percent in April-June, a slight deceleration from the first three months of the year, official statistics revealed on Thursday.
The Office for National Statistics reported that the Gross Domestic Product increased by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2024.
The data covers the period immediately preceding Britain’s general election in early July, when the centre-left Labour party won power on a pledge to significantly boost the country’s economy.
“The new government is under no illusion as to the scale of the challenge we have inherited after more than a decade of low economic growth and a £22 billion ($28 billion) black hole in the public finances,” finance minister Rachel Reeves said Thursday in response to the latest GDP figures.
“That is why we have made economic growth our national mission and we are taking the tough decisions now to fix the foundations, so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off.”