Business leaders in Greater Birmingham say it is time for the Government to “be bold and fix the foundations of the economy”, after the UK suffered its weakest period of GDP growth in five years.
According to figures released today, UK gross domestic product increased by 0.1 per cent in quarter one (January to March), compared with 0.4 per cent in quarter four of 2017.
The Office for National Statistics’ estimate showed that construction was down by 3.3 per cent in the first three months of the year, while manufacturing growth slowed to 0.2 per cent.
Production, which includes electricity and gas supply in addition to manufacturing, rose by 0.7 per cent as a result of households using more energy during the cold weather. Services increased by 0.3 per cent.
Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce chief executive Paul Faulkner (pictured) said: “Today’s results make for disappointing reading as we witnessed the slowest pace of GDP growth for almost five years mainly predicated on a fall in manufacturing growth – a trend we saw mirrored in our latest Quarterly Business Report as local manufacturers revealed a drop in their domestic output.
“While it would be convenient to blame the slowdown on the period of bad weather we saw in February, it’s worth bearing in mind that this was likely to have been offset by an increase in energy production as people kept their heating on for longer periods during the snap blizzard.
“Only last month, an interest rate rise seemed a certainty – however, given the fact we are seeing a drop in inflation levels and a slower pace of economic growth, any projected uplift must surely be put on hold.
“In light of these results, we would urge the Government to be bold and fix the foundations of the economy by investing in first class infrastructure projects and upskilling our workforce – the future prosperity of our country depends on it.”
