UK ECONOMY FLATLINES IN APRIL, OFFICIAL FIGURES SHOW Compared to the 0.4% figure recorded during March

The UK economy flatlined in April, according to official figures.  These figures were seized on, by the opposition parties, as evidence the Conservatives’ much-heralded economic plan was not working.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said there was zero growth in April compared to the 0.4% figure recorded during March.

A 0% growth figure had been predicted given earlier evidence that wet weather had knocked retail sales and construction output particularly hard this month.   The wet and cold weather – despite Climate Alarmist claims earlier in the month saying the UK was boiling and the UK’s Weather service claiming the month as the Hottest ever – since records began.

The GDP (gross domestic product) report from the ONS – the last to be released ahead of the election – showed UK overall rainfall at 155% of the long-term average in April.

Construction output was found to have declined by 1.4% as a result, the number crunchers said, also aided by poor demand for construction products in the manufacturing sector.

Production was down by 0.9% while the services sector – accounting for almost 80% of UK total output – grew by just 0.2%.

Despite the emphasis on the hit from rain, the numbers still represent a setback for Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s key election argument that the economy is improving after successive hits from the COVID pandemic followed by the cost of living crisis.