UK economy slows amid political unrest, Mideast war
Britain’s economic growth slowed in the second quarter compared with the first three months of the year, official data showed on Aug. 13, as the country faced political unrest at home and fallout from the Middle East war.
Gross domestic product increased 0.4 percent in the April-June period after an expansion of 0.6 percent in the first quarter, the Office for National Statistics said in a statement.
Keir Starmer resigned as prime minister in late June and was replaced around one month later by Andy Burnham, as the Labour government was overtaken in opinion polls by the hard-right party Reform UK.
Following Aug. 13's data, the country’s new finance minister, John Healey, said that under Burnham, Labour was a “hands-on government, putting British interests first, giving breathing space to those feeling the strain, making our country more resilient and bringing hope back.”
