People spending less, doctors’ strikes and a fall in school attendance are some of the factors attributed to dragged the UK into recession at the end of last year, official figures show.
The economy shrunk by a larger than expected 0.3% between October and December, after it had already contracted between July and September.
The UK is in recession if it fails to grow for two successive quarters.
The figures raise questions over whether Rishi Sunak has met his pledge made last January to grow the economy.
The government has never publicly said what measure should be used to assess if it had met the Prime Minister’s pledge, despite repeated requests.
In some private briefings to journalists, sources said it would be if the economy was bigger between October and December compared to the previous three months.
But based on that measure, Mr Sunak’s promise has not been fulfilled because the UK economy shrank by 0.1% in July to September.
For the whole of 2023, the UK economy grew by 0.1%.
Nevertheless, excluding the Covid years, that annual growth figure is the weakest since 2009 when the UK and other major economies were reeling from the global financial crisis when bank lending almost ground to a halt.
When was the last UK recession and how long did it last?
The last UK recession was in 2020, at the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
It only lasted for six months, although the 20.4% fall recorded between April and June 2020 was the largest on record.
The previous recession started in 2008 as a result of the global financial crisis, and went on for five quarters, or 15 months.
What happens in a recession and how does it affect me?
For many people, economic growth is good. It can mean that more jobs are available, and that companies can pay more to employees and shareholders.
The higher wages and larger profits seen in a growing economy also generate additional money for the government through taxes.
It can choose to spend more on benefits, public services and government workers’ wages, or cut tax rate
When the economy shrinks and a country goes into recession, these things can go into reverse.
Whilst this recession is set to be mild, it is not a good sign for public services which are already struggling