What do the latest figures mean for Rishi Sunak’s five pledges?

The prime minister promised to grow the economy, and it appears to have grown a little – but will it be enough to turn things around before the election, asks Tom Peck

Sunak unveiled his five pledges in January this year (PA)

The figures published on Friday morning reveal a small amount of good news for Rishi Sunak. According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the economy grew by 0.5 per cent in June. This is at a point when many feared the UK would already be in recession, though that outcome has not yet been avoided.

They are certainly an improvement on the 0.1 per cent contraction recorded in May, though those results were attributed to there having been three bank holidays, one of which was in honour of the coronation. But they are also a reminder that Sunak has, very deliberately, listed the growing of the economy as one of five key pledges, to be delivered by the end of the year.

His intention, certainly, was to set his own benchmarks by which his success or failure could be judged, to prevent others from doing that for him. He was initially criticised for setting targets that were too easily achievable, and were in several cases forecast to be met anyway. But things have not gone entirely as he would have liked.