Labour won’t say when people will feel better off after the UK economy grew by more than expected in the last three months of last year.
Gross domestic product (GDP) – the means of judging how healthy the economy is – edged 0.1 per cent per cent higher between October and December.
But Labour minister Matthew Pennycook said he would not “pick an arbitrary date” for when people will start to feel better-off.
Asked when people would begin to have more money in their pockets, the housing minister told BBC Breakfast: “I’m not going to pick an arbitrary date to give you for that, but we’re absolutely focused on boosting living standards. That’s at the heart of our plan for change.
“Wages have increased. People can expect and look forward to that rise in the minimum wage that comes into effect in April.”
The economy expanded by 0.4 per cent in December, which is better than most analysts expected. This marked a pick up following a 0.1 per cent rise in November and a 0.1 per cent fall in October.
Labour Chancellor Rachel Reeves said she is “still not satisfied” with the figures.
She told broadcasters: “The growth numbers have come in higher than many expected, but I’m still not satisfied with the level of growth that our economy is achieving.
“And that’s why I am determined to go further and faster in delivering the economic growth and the improvements in living standards that our country deserves.”
SNP Economy spokesperson Dave Doogan claimed things had gotten worse under Labour. He said: “The Labour Party promised to fix Brexit Britain’s broken economy but instead it has made things even worse – with the weakest possible growth, GDP per person falling, increased unemployment, rising prices and looming austerity cuts.
“Families and businesses across Scotland are paying the price for the Labour government’s failure and its damaging policies, including the National Insurance tax hike and the political choice to stay out of the EU single market, which is costing Scotland billions of pounds in lost growth, trade and investment every year.
“Unless the Labour government urgently changes direction, the UK will face another lost decade of stagnation and decline – with families hit in the pocket as bills rise, wages are squeezed and people get poorer.
“The Chancellor has confirmed she possesses only a notional grasp of fiscal cause and effect and now, on top of failing to fix fourteen years of Tory economic decline, she’s added her own economic chaos into the mix. Her unforced fiscal errors are costing business and workers dearly.”
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