In the run-up to July's general election in the UK, Keir Starmer said he wanted the economy to achieve annual growth of 2.5 per cent – a rate the British economy hasn't seen consistently in nearly 10 years.
Having won the election, the Labour government toned down the hyperbole somewhat and Chancellor Rachel Reeves set a more formal target that the UK should achieve the fastest per capita growth in terms of GDP among the G7 for two consecutive years.
On Thursday, the staggering UK economy showed signs of at least stumbling in that direction, as the Office for National Statistics said GDP was estimated to have grown by 0.6 per cent in the second quarter, April to June, following an increase of 0.7 per cent in Q1.
On a monthly basis, the UK economy showed no growth in June, as any boost from the arrival of Taylor Swift was counteracted by wet weather and industrial action.
Thursday's numbers on the economy showed output per capita in the second quarter was 0.1 per cent lower than a year earlier, and 0.8 per cent lower than before the pandemic.
'Distinctly limp'
“Household consumption was up as people have got a few more pennies in their pockets thanks to falling inflation and strong wage growth,” said Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell.
“That extra cash sloshing around has provided the fuel for the kind of growth that’s been lacking for the past couple of years when the economy seemed to flatline following its post-Covid recovery.
“But it’s not all good news, and June looked distinctly limp as election uncertainty put off some spending decisions by business, whilst the impact of strike action continued to exert pressure on the economy.
“The weather also played a part with retail sales suffering, as summer seemed to go missing for much of the month.
Meanwhile, the Bank of England cut interest rates for the first time in four years earlier this month, bringing relief to many economists who felt the central bank had been leaning on the economy too hard for too long. After 14 consecutive interest rate rises between December 2021 and August last year, rates had been at 5.25 per cent for a year before this month's cut.
On Wednesday, the ONS revealed that inflation, as expected, ticked slightly higher to 2.2 per cent. It had been at the Bank of England's target of 2 per cent for May and June.
Right now, Britain's economy is comfortably growing faster than the rest of Europe, although it lags slightly behind the US.
“There is good reason to expect that the second half of 2024 will be strong, too, given that wages are growing in real terms and the Bank of England has started to loosen monetary policy,” said Jake Finney, economist at PwC.
“However, there is still some way to go if the government is to meet its ambitious target.”
'Fix the foundations'
Britain's new Labour government has wasted no time in clearing the decks of the factors it deems are holding economic growth back.
“We have made economic growth our national mission and we are taking the tough decisions now to fix the foundations, so we can rebuild Britain and make every part of the country better off,” Ms Reeves said on Thursday.
Included in the audit into the nation's finances that Ms Reeves commissioned almost as soon as she took on her new job was a brief to discover just how much the industrial action during the last few years of Conservative rule had battered productivity and severely hamstrung economic growth.
It's thought this found that the economy took a £300 million hit for each day of the teachers’ strikes because of lost working hours, and industrial action in the NHS cost £1.7 billon.
The ONS found that between June 2022 and December 2023, 5.05 million working days were lost, the highest number in a 19-month period for more than 30 years.
As such, the government is anxious to stop the strikes as soon as possible, principally by accepting the recommendations of the pay review bodies. On Wednesday, train drivers were offered a 14 per cent rise over three years.
Junior doctors are in line for a 22 per cent increase, which the Nuffield Trust predicts will cost the NHS in the region of £600 million.
Other public sector workers, like teachers and nurses, are set for a 5.5 per cent wage increase, which the Institute for Fiscal Studies calculates could cost £10 billion.
The logic is that once the reins of industrial action are loosened, the economy can surge ahead. But the flipside of that argument is the risk that pay increases could feed through into inflation and reawaken the beast the Bank of England has spent the last two years taming with interest rate rises.
For former Bank of England economist, Stuart Cole, above-inflation pay deals are “a negative for productivity growth” but they take “a bit of time to work through the system, whereas strikes have an immediate negative impact on output”.
“Starmer's whole economic plan is based on boosting growth, so he is taking the quick-fix solution now of paying up to avoid strike action,” he told The National.
“It is a short-term fix which has heavier costs over the medium term. But politics is all about short-term wins.”
Keeping the pace up
Economists are quick to point out that at 5 per cent, relatively speaking, interest rates are still high and growth, while outstripping much of Europe, remains sluggish.
“This pace of growth is not set to last,” said Anna Leach, chief economist at the Institute of Directors.
“Business surveys point to modest momentum through the summer months, no doubt affected by still-high interest rates.”
Some analysts contend that speed is of the essence and rapid economic growth is needed for Labour pledge to fix Britain's crumbling public services to become reality. It's one reason why the first six weeks of the new administration has been a flurry of activity.
“While short-term growth is reassuring, it is essential to address issues that have hindered long-term economic growth,” said Hailey Low, associate economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research think tank.
“Persistent challenges such as low productivity growth, strained public finances, and inadequate infrastructures have acted as barriers to achieving sustained growth.
“Tackling these challenges will remain crucial for policymakers during this parliament and beyond.”
Conservative MPs who have publicly revealed sending letters of no confidence
- Steve Baker
- Peter Bone
- Ben Bradley
- Andrew Bridgen
- Maria Caulfield
- Simon Clarke
- Philip Davies
- Nadine Dorries
- James Duddridge
- Mark Francois
- Chris Green
- Adam Holloway
- Andrea Jenkyns
- Anne-Marie Morris
- Sheryll Murray
- Jacob Rees-Mogg
- Laurence Robertson
- Lee Rowley
- Henry Smith
- Martin Vickers
- John Whittingdale
Blonde
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAndrew%20Dominik%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStars%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAna%20de%20Armas%2C%20Adrien%20Brody%2C%20Bobby%20Cannavale%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E3%2F5%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
It's up to you to go green
Nils El Accad, chief executive and owner of Organic Foods and Café, says going green is about “lifestyle and attitude” rather than a “money change”; people need to plan ahead to fill water bottles in advance and take their own bags to the supermarket, he says.
“People always want someone else to do the work; it doesn’t work like that,” he adds. “The first step: you have to consciously make that decision and change.”
When he gets a takeaway, says Mr El Accad, he takes his own glass jars instead of accepting disposable aluminium containers, paper napkins and plastic tubs, cutlery and bags from restaurants.
He also plants his own crops and herbs at home and at the Sheikh Zayed store, from basil and rosemary to beans, squashes and papayas. “If you’re going to water anything, better it be tomatoes and cucumbers, something edible, than grass,” he says.
“All this throwaway plastic - cups, bottles, forks - has to go first,” says Mr El Accad, who has banned all disposable straws, whether plastic or even paper, from the café chain.
One of the latest changes he has implemented at his stores is to offer refills of liquid laundry detergent, to save plastic. The two brands Organic Foods stocks, Organic Larder and Sonnett, are both “triple-certified - you could eat the product”.
The Organic Larder detergent will soon be delivered in 200-litre metal oil drums before being decanted into 20-litre containers in-store.
Customers can refill their bottles at least 30 times before they start to degrade, he says. Organic Larder costs Dh35.75 for one litre and Dh62 for 2.75 litres and refills will cost 15 to 20 per cent less, Mr El Accad says.
But while there are savings to be had, going green tends to come with upfront costs and extra work and planning. Are we ready to refill bottles rather than throw them away? “You have to change,” says Mr El Accad. “I can only make it available.”
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE squad to face Ireland
Ahmed Raza (captain), Chirag Suri (vice-captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, Mohammed Boota, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Waheed Ahmad, Zawar Farid, CP Rizwaan, Aryan Lakra, Karthik Meiyappan, Alishan Sharafu, Basil Hameed, Kashif Daud, Adithya Shetty, Vriitya Aravind
More on Quran memorisation:
If you go
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Santiago, via Sao Paolo cost from Dh5,295 with Emirates.
The trip
A five-day trip (not including two days of flight travel) was split between Santiago and in Puerto Varas, with more time spent in the later where excursions were organised by TurisTour.
When to go
The summer months, from December to February are best though there is beauty in each season
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
BUNDESLIGA FIXTURES
Friday (UAE kick-off times)
Cologne v Hoffenheim (11.30pm)
Saturday
Hertha Berlin v RB Leipzig (6.30pm)
Schalke v Fortuna Dusseldof (6.30pm)
Mainz v Union Berlin (6.30pm)
Paderborn v Augsburg (6.30pm)
Bayern Munich v Borussia Dortmund (9.30pm)
Sunday
Borussia Monchengladbach v Werder Bremen (4.30pm)
Wolfsburg v Bayer Leverkusen (6.30pm)
SC Freiburg v Eintracht Frankfurt (9on)
ETFs explained
Exhchange traded funds are bought and sold like shares, but operate as index-tracking funds, passively following their chosen indices, such as the S&P 500, FTSE 100 and the FTSE All World, plus a vast range of smaller exchanges and commodities, such as gold, silver, copper sugar, coffee and oil.
ETFs have zero upfront fees and annual charges as low as 0.07 per cent a year, which means you get to keep more of your returns, as actively managed funds can charge as much as 1.5 per cent a year.
There are thousands to choose from, with the five biggest providers BlackRock’s iShares range, Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors SPDR ETFs, Deutsche Bank AWM X-trackers and Invesco PowerShares.
Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
The bio
Who inspires you?
I am in awe of the remarkable women in the Arab region, both big and small, pushing boundaries and becoming role models for generations. Emily Nasrallah was a writer, journalist, teacher and women’s rights activist
How do you relax?
Yoga relaxes me and helps me relieve tension, especially now when we’re practically chained to laptops and desks. I enjoy learning more about music and the history of famous music bands and genres.
What is favourite book?
The Perks of Being a Wallflower - I think I've read it more than 7 times
What is your favourite Arabic film?
Hala2 Lawen (Translation: Where Do We Go Now?) by Nadine Labaki
What is favourite English film?
Mamma Mia
Best piece of advice to someone looking for a career at Google?
If you’re interested in a career at Google, deep dive into the different career paths and pinpoint the space you want to join. When you know your space, you’re likely to identify the skills you need to develop.
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The squad traveling to Brazil:
Faisal Al Ketbi, Ibrahim Al Hosani, Khalfan Humaid Balhol, Khalifa Saeed Al Suwaidi, Mubarak Basharhil, Obaid Salem Al Nuaimi, Saeed Juma Al Mazrouei, Saoud Abdulla Al Hammadi, Taleb Al Kirbi, Yahia Mansour Al Hammadi, Zayed Al Kaabi, Zayed Saif Al Mansoori, Saaid Haj Hamdou, Hamad Saeed Al Nuaimi. Coaches Roberto Lima and Alex Paz.
Company%C2%A0profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ELeap%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EMarch%202021%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Ziad%20Toqan%20and%20Jamil%20Khammu%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EPre-seed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunds%20raised%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Undisclosed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeven%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Match info
What: Fifa Club World Cup play-off
Who: Al Ain v Team Wellington
Where: Hazza bin Zayed Stadium, Al Ain
When: Wednesday, kick off 7.30pm
