Prime Minister says UK growth figures ‘not good enough’

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has said that the most recent growth figures are “not good enough” as he said he wanted “better” results than those seen last week.

Numbers released last Friday by the Office for National Statistics showed that the UK economy grew by 0.1% between July and September, versus 0.5% growth in the previous quarter.

The estimate was behind economists’ predictions of 0.2% and covers the months ahead of the Budget in October.

Labour had made growth a key part of their pitch to the country during the summer election.

Sir Keir was asked about the growth figures by journalists on the way to the G20 summit in Brazil.

He said he wants “better” growth than the numbers demonstrated.

“We had the growth figures on Thursday and Friday. Look, they’re not good enough, they’re not satisfactory – I want to go further than that,” he said.

“That’s why we’re working so hard to get the investment we need into the country.

“But the first step is to stabilise the economy.”

The Prime Minister added: “Do I want better growth than we saw in the figure on Thursday and Friday?

“Yes, I do. I don’t think that’s satisfactory and we will be making sure that figure improves.”

Within the figures released last week, the economy was estimated to have contracted by 0.1% in September, preceding the Government’s first Budget.

Ben Jones, lead economist at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said uncertainty ahead of the Budget “probably played a big part”, after firms reported a slowdown in making spending decisions.

It comes after Chancellor Rachel Reeves said that she was “not satisfied” with the figures.

“Improving economic growth is at the heart of everything I am seeking to achieve, which is why I am not satisfied with these numbers,” she said last week.

Labour’s election manifesto pledged to “kickstart economic growth”.

The document pledged “to secure the highest sustained growth in the G7 – with good jobs and productivity growth in every part of the country making everyone, not just a few, better off.”