Lack of growth in UK’s latest GDP figures ‘deeply alarming’, says Swinney
The First Minister accused the UK Government of making ‘mistakes’ in its budget which will exacerbate the problem.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Scotland’s First Minister John Swinney has described recent UK-wide GDP (gross domestic product) figures as “deeply alarming”.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) released statistics on Monday showing no growth in the UK economy between July and September of this year.
An initial projection forecast a 0.1% increase in growth.
The agency also revised down the growth in the second quarter of this year from 0.5% to 0.4%.
Speaking to the PA news agency on Monday, Mr Swinney criticised the UK Government for “mistakes” that were made which led to growth stagnating.
“The data that has come out today about the performance of the UK economy in the last quarter is deeply alarming,” he said.
“There’s been an absence of growth and that’s going to be added to by the decisions taken in the UK Budget, when the Chancellor decided to increase employers’ national insurance contributions, which is, bluntly, a tax on jobs.
“So, I’m really worried about what that decision will mean for the future prospects of the economy.”
The Scottish Government’s recent budget, which was outlined earlier this month by Finance Secretary Shona Robison, was aimed at making Scotland an “attractive place for investment”.
“But fundamentally, I am worried about the economic outlook that the Labour Government has taken forward because of some mistakes that were made in the budget about increasing employer national insurance contributions and the implications of that will be very significant for Scotland,” he added.
Reacting to the figures, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said in a statement the challenge faced by her Government after years of “neglect” by the Tories was “huge”.
“But this is only fuelling our fire to deliver for working people,” she added.
“The budget and our plan for change will deliver sustainable long-term growth, putting more money in people’s pockets through increased investment and relentless reform.”