This morning’s dismal revised ONS GDP data revealed that

• UK GDP fell by a revised 0.3% in Q3 (previously estimated to be a 0.2% decline).
• GDP is now at 0.8% below pre-pandemic levels (revised down from prior estimate of 0.4% below).
• Household spending dropping by 1.1% after inflation in Q3.

Liz Truss, despite the now prevailing derision towards her, was right: growth is more important than balancing the books in the short term. Guido doesn’t get the feeling that Sunak or Starmer are prioritising economic growth above political positioning. Britain will almost certainly be in recession in 2023 – what’s the growth plan?

Rishi says the illegal migrants issue is getting his focus in Downing Street, “I do think that the absolute priority that the British people have right now, as do I, is to grip illegal migration… I can tell you that I’ve spent more time working on that than anything else…”. Guido disagrees with his sense of priority. Economic decline is impacting on everyone’s living standards and the latest Ipsos MORI survey confirms people are far more concerned about the economy than immigration. We need to prioritise getting a grip on growth.