Kurt Zindulka 13 May 2020
In the first three months of 2020, the British economy contracted at the fastest rate since the 2008 financial collapse, despite coronavirus lockdown measures only being implemented in the final week of March.
The first quarter of the year saw a 2 per cent fall in GDP in the UK, the worst fall since the final quarter of 2008. The decline was driven in large part by March, which alone saw a record 5.8 per cent drop in GDP.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that the economy saw “widespread†declines in the service, manufacturing and construction industries, with the service sector falling by 1.9 per cent, production by 2.1 per cent, and construction by 2.6 per cent.
“This is the largest quarterly contraction since the global financial crisis and reflects the imposing of public health restrictions and voluntary social distancing put in place in response to the Covid-19 pandemic,†the ONS said.
A senior UK economist at Capital Economics, Ruth Gregory told the BBC that the economic data shows that the economy was “already in freefall within two weeks of the lockdown going into effectâ€.
“With the restrictions in place until mid-May and then only lifted very slightly, April will be far worse,†she warned.
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https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2020/05/13/uk-economy-falls-at-fastest-rate-since-2008-crash-massive-tax-rises-loom/
