The International Monetary Fund has today upgraded its forecasts for the UK’s growth. It estimated in April that growth in 2024 would reach 0.5% – that’s now upgraded to 0.7% as expectations for 2025 also get a boost to 1.5%. That’s after the UK economy outperformed all doomsayer expectations with 0.6% growth in the first quarter of the year…

Now the IMF says:

“With growth recovering faster than expected, the UK economy is approaching a soft landing, following a mild technical recession in 2023.“

The IMF adds to pressure on UK central bankers, warning that the Bank of England could “stall or reverse the recovery” by failing to put rates down quickly enough. Apart from spouting its usual stale tax-raising recommendations the IMF says that growth and productivity need to be restored with “structural reforms” which are “backed by an independent growth commission“. Guido can think of one such thing already set up and raring to go…