The middle of the line

The first estimated figures for UK GDP are out, and they show that the economy grew again between April and June, and at quite a fast rate. So, we now know that Labour left office with:

a)       A deficit that was lower than expected
b)      An economy that was growing faster than expected
c)       Unemployment lower than expected and falling

And yet, what will our new government do? They will claim that:

a)       The deficit is worse than they thought
b)      The economy was ‘ruined’, by the deficit
c)       We need to sack loads of people

One area of the economy that saw a surge in growth was the Construction industry. Which will be one of the areas most badly affected by government cuts such as the Building Schools for the Future programme and new housing. I really hope that we don’t end up with a new recession prompted by the cuts. The latest GDP figures mean that it would be harder to slip into recession, but they also make it pretty clear that if we do, it’s down to the Coalition.