GDP inches up 0.1% in May as services sector rides to the rescue, handing Andy Burnham a fragile economic lifeline
Britain’s economy has staged a wafer-thin recovery—growing just 0.1% in May—as the nation prepares to welcome a new prime minister on Monday.
The modest rebound, driven entirely by a 0.3% uptick in the services sector, comes after April’s 0.1% contraction, which was fueled by soaring oil prices amid US-Iran tensions.
Andy Burnham will take the helm on Monday following Keir Starmer’s resignation last month, after months of internal party pressure, scandals, economic missteps, and policy reversals forced him out.
“The growth in May was because of a rise of 0.3% in services,” the Office for National Statistics confirmed.
Economists called the timing fortuitous.
“It’s not a bad welcome gift for incoming PM Andy Burnham,” said Paul Dales, chief UK economist at Capital Economics.
Dales added that even if June output flatlines, the economy would still grow 0.4% overall in the second quarter suggesting “the economy has been more resilient to the rise in energy prices” than previously expected.
But the OECD struck a cautious note Wednesday, forecasting UK growth will slow to 0.9% this year from 1.4% in 2025, before ticking up to 1.1% next year.
For Burnham, the numbers offer a flicker of hope but the road ahead remains anything but smooth.
