Figures show UK £60bn worse off than G7 average as Hunt lays out growth plan

27 January 2023 , 10:11

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Jeremy Hunt gave a speech on growth this morning (Image: Frank Augstein/AP/REX/Shutterstock)

Lost growth under the Tories has left the economy £2,000 worse off per household compared to other G7 countries, Labour figures reveal.

The dismal analysis came as Chancellor Jeremy Hunt gave a speech laying out the government's plans for investment and growth.

But Labour's shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves said Britain's potential had been "held back by 13 years of Tory economic failure."

She said: "Labour will stop us going down this path of managed decline. Built on the rock of economic responsibility, our Green Prosperity Plan and mission to make Britain the best place to start and grow a business will get our economy growing and lift living standards.”

Analysis found the UK economy was £60 billion smaller compared to the average of G7 nations. It's based on House of Commons Library figures which show the economy was 0.8% smaller in the third quarter of last year than in the fourth quarter of 2019.

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Over the same period, the average G7 economy increased by 1.9%. That means the UK economy is 3% smaller than if it had grown at the same rate as the rest of the G7.

Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves says Tory failures have held back Britain's potential (Zuma Press/PA Images)

Speaking at Bloomberg this morning, Mr Hunt admitted the public sector has rebounded more slowly from the pandemic than he wanted, but hit out at "declinism".

Speaking at an event hosted by Bloomberg, he said: "Declinism about Britain is just wrong. It's always been wrong in the past, and it's wrong today.

"Some of the gloom is based on statistics that don't reflect the whole picture. Like every G7 country, our growth was slower in the years after the financial crisis than before it.

"But since 2010, the UK has grown faster than France, Japan and Italy. Not at the bottom, but right in the middle of the pack."

He added: "Since the Brexit referendum, we've grown at about the same rate as Germany. Yes, we've not returned to pre-pandemic employment or output levels, but an economy that contracted 20% in a pandemic, still has nearly the lowest unemployment for half a century.

"Whilst our public sector continues to recover more slowly than we would like from the pandemic strengthening the case for reform, our private sector has grown seven and a half percent in the last year."

Mikey Smith