The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has admitted its data was wildly off: the UK economy actually shrank less than thought during the pandemic, and bounced back to pre-Covid levels almost two years ago. According to new figures, GDP is now thought to have been 0.6% higher than before Covid in the last quarter of 2021, not 1.2% smaller. Blowing apart the claim that the UK was the only G7 country not to bounce back from the pandemic…

The ONS admits:

“These revisions are mainly because we have richer data from our annual surveys and administrative data, we are now able to measure costs incurred by businesses directly and we can adjust for prices at a far more detailed level.”

Provided the data stays consistent for 2022-23, this means the UK’s economy is actually bigger than pre-Covid, not 0.2% smaller as previously thought. The entire headline narrative that the UK was unique in its post-Covid stagnation compared to Europe has been contradicted. A huge blunder. “”Lies, damned lies, and statistics”…

UPDATE: Jeremy Hunt takes a victory lap, saying the data “shows that once again those determined to talk down the British economy have been proved wrong. There are many battles still to win, most of all against inflation so we can ease cost of living pressures of families. But if we stick to the plan we can look forward to healthy growth which according to the IMF will be faster than Germany, France, and Italy in the long term.”