Economy to grow the ‘fastest in West’ thanks to vaccine rollout

THE nation’s economy is set to roar back this year and the next after the Government’s stellar vaccine rollout helped get businesses back on their feet.

Output will climb by 6.8 per cent this year, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) predicted – beating every other major advanced economy.

Even next year, the UK should outperform all its G7 rivals other than the US with growth of 5 per cent.

Britain is recovering from a lower base than others after its economy slumped by 9.7 per cent as Covid cases ravaged the country last year. But it should continue to bounce back – despite rising inflation and worries over interest rates.

The IMF said: ‘The case of the UK is instructive in the effectiveness of largescale vaccination campaigns, even against highly contagious variants.’

Gita Gopinath, the IMF’s chief economist, also brushed aside suggestions that Britain could be headed for a bout of ‘stagflation’ – where growth stagnates but prices soar.