By Richard Johnstone | 27 January 2015
The UK economy grew by 2.6% in 2014, the fastest annual rate since 2007, preliminary figures from the Office for National Statistics have revealed.
Gross domestic product increased by 0.5% in the last three months of 2014, the ONS said today.
Overall, this means that GDP was around 2.6% higher in 2014 as a whole compared to the previous year.
Across the year, the service sector was the biggest contributor to increased output, accounting for 2.4 percentage points of the annual increase. The production sector, including construction, provided the remainder of the growth.
Responding to the figures, Chancellor George Osborne said the figures confirmed the UK’s economic recovery was on track, with the country having the fastest growth of any major economy in 2014.
‘But the international climate is getting worse, and with 100 days to go until the election now is not the time to abandon that plan and return Britain to economic chaos,’ he added.
Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander said: ‘There is much more to do, but this figure represents solid progress, especially against a backdrop that sees many of our key markets still suffering from economic problems.’
Labour’s shadow chancellor Ed Balls said government claims the economy had been fixed would ‘ring hollow’, as growth in the last quarter of 2014 was lower than the 0.7% expansion the previous three months.
He added: ‘Wages are down by £1600 a year since 2010 and now these figures show a concerning slowdown in economic growth too,’ he said.
‘Construction is down again, business investment under this government is lagging behind our competitors and exports are way off target. And the stagnating wages we have seen over the last five years are the reason why the chancellor has broken his promise to balance the books.’
