Britain’s economy shrank at the start of the second quarter, official figures show, in a blow for the Chancellor just a day after her spending review.
UK gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 0.3pc during April in the biggest monthly drop since October 2023, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
This was worse than analysts’ fears that the economy would shrink by 0.1pc and follows a 0.7pc expansion during the first three months of the year.
At the start of April, businesses grappled with Rachel Reeves’s hikes to National Insurance contributions and an increase in the minimum wage.
The data also covers the month when Donald Trump launched his so-called “liberation day” tariff onslaught which threatened to upend global trade.
