Should we be worried by the ‘Rishession’… and is Brexit to blame?

Leaving the EU has taken 5 per cent out of the UK’s GDP, created a permanent headwind preventing the economy from recovering – and laid waste to the prime minister’s reputation for careful fiscal stewardship, says James Moore

Rishi Sunak’s promise to grow the economy is in tatters after the UK entered a recession (PA)

Economists spent much of last year discussing the dreaded R-word, and whether the UK could avoid recession. Now we have the answer: it could not.

Following a shallow contraction in the third quarter of 2023, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that UK plc fell on its face during the final three months of the year.

Every sector – services (down 0.2 per cent), construction (-1.3) and production (-1) – ended 2023 in the red. Economists had expected a stumble, but not as bad as the one that emerged. The UK entered 2024 trying to pull itself back to its feet and in need of Band-Aids for its scraped knees.