Britain declared 'stagnation nation' despite economy's recession recovery

Britain has been declared a "stagnation nation" by a leading think tank, despite the economy recovering from its latest recession.

The Resolution Foundation noted the UK has experienced the best gross domestic product (GDP) in nearly three years following the latest Office for National Statistic (ONS) figures.

Earlier this week, the ONS reported that GDP grew by 0.6 per cent between January and March 2024 which is stronger than many economists predicted for the quarter.

With this development, the UK is officially no longer in recession after experiencing an economic downturn in the later half of last year.

A recession is defined as happening when a country experiences two consecutive quarters of negative economic growth .

However, the Resolution Foundation is sounding the alarm that this momentum will need to be maintained due to the wider "economic backdrop".

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Notably, GDP per capita growth in the UK has plummeted 90 per cent over the past 16 years since the Great Recession.

Over this period, Britain has experienced three recessions with this record of downturn happening roughly around every five years.

This is far greater rate than their occurrence of roughly once every ten years during the second half of the 20th century.

James Smith, the research director at the Resolution Foundation, outlined why Britons should remain "worried" about the current state of the UK economy.

He explained: "The UK swiftly exited its latest recession in 2024 with the strongest economic growth since late 2021.

“But the wider backdrop is still worrying. Britain is falling into recession twice as frequently as it did in the second of the 20th century, and it remains a stagnation nation.

"These all-too regular shocks and slumps in between are reducing living standards and straining the public finances.

“The battle of ideas on how to change this record should be key during the election campaign.”

GDP per capita jumped in early 2024 for the first time in two years, however this remains1.3 per cent lower over this period.

Furthermore, gross domestic product has grown by only 4.3 per cent over the past 16 years in total.

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In comparison, Britain's GDP jumped by 46 per cent during the 16 years running to the financial crisis in 2008.

According to The Resolution Foundation, this is why the UK remains a "stagnation nation" despite this latest economic boost.

Improvement in GDP last quarter can be contributable to growth in the services and production sectors.

Furthermore, the ONS cited growth in the human health and social services sector, administrative and support services.