UK economy grows by 0.5% in February in surprise boost for Labour

Britain’s economy grew faster than expected in February, as the services and manufacturing sectors picked up after recent slow activity, official figures show.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.5%, surprising economists who had forecast no economic growth.

It also marks a significant monthly improvement after no growth in January, the ONS added.

Election

The figures come as a surprise boost for Labour and Chancellor Rachel Reeves, after the party made growing the economy its key priority since winning the election last year, but momentum has been slow amid falling consumer confidence and rising inflation.

ONS director of economic statistics Liz McKeown said: “The economy grew strongly in February with widespread growth across both services and manufacturing industries.

“Within services, computer programming, telecoms and car dealerships all had strong months, while in manufacturing, electronics and pharmaceuticals led the way and car manufacturing also picked up after its recent poor performance.

“Across the last three months as a whole, the economy also grew strongly with broad-based growth across services industries.”