Why the economy is not yet listening to the chancellor’s battle cry

Since the turn of the year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves has had a single priority, repeated loud and clear at every opportunity; growth. It was a battle cry repeated from Beijing to Cape Town via Davos and repeatedly at home but, judging by figures for January, the economy is not yet listening. A contraction in GDP of 0.1% was below economists’ consensus of a similar amount of growth in the first month of the year. Following a larger than expected positive bump of 0.4% in December, it confirms the trend established in the second half of 2024 of an economy bumping…