UK economy shrinks by more than expected in April in blow to Rachel
Rachel Reeves Reacts To ‘Disappointing’ GDP Figures Following Spending Review
The UK economy shrunk by more than expected in a major blow to Rachel Reeves, just one day after she unveiled her spending review.
The chancellor, who set out record investment in the Commons on Wednesday, acknowledged that the latest GDP figures were “clearly disappointing” but insisted her plan for the economy would help deliver growth.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.3 per cent in April, compared with growth of 0.2 per cent the previous month and marking the biggest contraction since October 2023.
It was also worse than the 0.1 per cent contraction expected by most economists.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves delivering her Government’s spending review to MPs in the Commons (House of Commons/UK Parliament/PA)
Ms Reeves argued that uncertainty about tariffs had contributed to the figures for April – the month Donald Trump announced sweeping levies on imports to the US.
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“We know that April was a challenging month. There was a huge uncertainty about tariffs, and one of the things, if you dig into those GDP numbers today, is exports weakening and also production weakening because of that uncertainty in the world around tariffs”, the chancellor told Sky News.
She added that the figures were “not entirely unexpected, given the uncertainty that is out there in the world at the moment”.
