ZERO GROWTH.. EVEN BEFORE VIRUS HIT

BRITAIN’S economy flatlined – even before the coronavirus crisis hit.

The Office for National Statistics yesterday confirmed gross domestic product – the value of everything the country churns out – didn’t grow in January, or over the three months since November.

The worse-than-predicted data was despite talk of a so-called Boris Bounce after the Tory victory in December’s general election.

Coronavirus only began to really hit UK firms in February.

The Office for Budget Responsibility yesterday admitted its forecast of 1.1 per cent growth this year, made in February, was already out of date. It said: “Since we closed our forecast, it has become clear the spread of coronavirus will be far wider than assumed,” adding it could trigger a

“deeper, and possibly more prolonged, slowdown”. However, a spending splurge announced by Chancellor Rishi Sunak in yesterday’s Budget could yet offset some or all of the impact over time. The ONS’s Rob Kent-Smith said: “The economy continued to show no growth overall in the latest three months. “Growth in construction, driven by housebuilding, offset yet another decline in manufacturing.” Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell said: “On the day of the Budget these figures expose the fundamental weaknesses in the economy after a decade of decline under the Tories. “News of zero growth and falling production, even before the outbreak of coronavirus, show the Tories do not have a grip on the economy.”

John McDonnell