UK’s gross domestic product (GDP) rate for January to March 2026 jumped by 0.6 per cent, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
For March alone, the economy grew by 0.3 per cent despite many analysts forecasts GDP to slip by 0.1 per cent or 0.2 per cent in response to the US-Iran war.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has made economic growth central to her fiscal agenda since Labour returned to Government in July 2024.
Notably, GDP over the first quarter of 2026 is estimated to have increased by an unrevised 1.4 per cent annually in 2025, following revised growth of one per cent in 2024.
The Chancellor has made GDP growth a priority
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POOLGDP is the measurement of economic activity of the private sector, workers, and the Government; often being the determining factor for employee pay rises and tax cuts.
Between January and March 2026, the country’s GDP was bolstered by a 0.8 per cent boost in the key services industry, while production output rose by 0.2 per cent and construction output jumped by 0.4 per cent.
Based on this latest quarter’s services figures, the biggest drivers of growth were wholesale and retail trade, with motor vehicles and motorcycle repair up two per cent.
Furthermore, growth in the information and communication services sector was on the up by 1.7 per cent, while professional, scientific and technical activities increased by 1.2 per cent.
How has GDP growth changed in recent years?
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ONS
However, the US-Iran war has been shown to have had some immediate detrimental impact on the British economy based on March’s GDP figures alone.
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