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UK falls back into recession

John Fitzsimons
by Lovemoney Staff John Fitzsimons on 25 April 2012  |  Comments 12 comments

The UK is back in recession, following negative growth for the second straight quarter.

UK falls back into recession

The UK has fallen back into recession, after the economy shrank in the first quarter of 2012.

According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS), gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.2%. This follows a fall of 0.3% in the final quarter of 2011. Two consecutive months of negative growth are classified as a recession.

The ONS put the fall down to a weakness in the construction sector and public sectors. Output in the construction sector fell by a whopping 3%, following a fall of 0.2% in the previous quarter.

The performance of the service sector is also a disappointment, having been forecast to grow by 0.5%, when it reality it grew by just 0.1%.

More on the economy:

UK inflation in surprise increase in March

Why the super-rich are good for us

Inflation basket: how Robert Pattinson and Apple affect our money

Three years of low interest rates: winners and losers

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Comments (12)

  • DailyMail
    Love rating 14
    DailyMail said

    Imagine what the figures would have looked like if this pathetic Govt hadn't engineered the panic buying of fuel to enhance the figures? They really are, if anything, WORSE than the last lot and Cameron has proved to be an absolutely woeful PM; he's even being smashed by the Tory press on a daily basis! Let's hope Old Rupert hammers the last nail in his coffin today...

    Report on 25 April 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • culluding-fool
    Love rating 49
    culluding-fool said

    As bad as Cameron is, I don't have any faith in the alternatives either. We need a leader.

    Report on 25 April 2012  |  Love thisLove  4 loves
  • timboreeves
    Love rating 3
    timboreeves said

    I disagree - Cameron is doing a great job - we need to hold back on spending and put an end to long-standing tax anomalies like well-off pensioners having higher tax allowances than working people.

    The press as usual like to bash those in power - the so called "pasty tax" - a name designed to make it appear the poor are being hit hard - could equally be called "panini tax" to show it is targetting the well-off.

    Besides, anyone buying a hot pasty rather than a cold one, obviously has enough money to buy something "out" where buying a pack of 3 from Asda for £1 would be a cheaper option.

    Having said that, whether Cameron is heralded a success or failure in the end, will not be the result of changes coming out of policy decisions. Whoever is in power when the global economy starts to improve, will take the credit for making things better. If that happens before the end of this government, Cameron will be given (and take!) credit. If it doesn't and there is enough negative feeling at election time to vote Labour in, Labour will get the credit no matter what they do.

    The economic changes being brought in are tiny compared to the benefits that come from a resurgence in global economies. In the meantime, whatever government is in charge just has to look like they are trying.

    Report on 25 April 2012  |  Love thisLove  3 loves
  • DailyMail
    Love rating 14
    DailyMail said

    If the country really trusted Cameron he would have won the last election with a Blair-esque landslide. The fact that he didn't even get a majority says it all, really. And for once the public got their distrust absolutely spot on. Even the really die hard Tories couldn't bring themselves to claim he's doing a half decent job let alone a 'great job' lol. Are you related?

    Report on 25 April 2012  |  Love thisLove  1 love
  • aland55
    Love rating 2
    aland55 said

    DailyMail, you don't really think that a couple of days of panic buying would have any noticeable effect on the quarterly GDP figure, surely!

    Also, I've never been a Tory voter but I think Cameron and this Government have been doing a half decent job in a difficult situation. Could be better, but could be a lot worse!

    Report on 25 April 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • culluding-fool
    Love rating 49
    culluding-fool said

    I imagine there would have been a bit of a lull in fuel sales after the panic buying but we don't get to hear about that kind of news.

    Report on 25 April 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • CuNNaXXa
    Love rating 362
    CuNNaXXa said

    One thing to bare in mind when discussing our leader is to remember that although no party got a significant majority, the Labour Party did get more seats that the other parties.

    The reason we have a Conservative/LibDem coalition is because two lesser parties joined together to form a significant majority.

    The government could easily have been made up of Labour/Conservative, or Labour/LibDem, but the LibDems decided to cast their lot in with the Conservatives because they obviously felt they were getting a better deal from the Cons instead of the Labs.

    Remember that politics is not about what YOU can do for the people, but what the people can do for YOU. Anyone who aspires to being a politician does it not because they want to help the rest of us, but because they want to help themselves. Being a politician is the ultimate accolade from the God of GREED.

    I bet it is also an aphrodisiac, as it must be an almighty turn on to be able to pass laws that affect millions of people, regardless of whether those laws are common sense or just plain barmy.

    I agree with timboreeves who said that we need to cut back on public spending. It is a shame, though, that the very MPs responsible for spending OUR money don't see it that way. Irrespective of how deep we are in this current dip, there will still be MPs who conceive barmy ideas which have less chance of success than winning the lottery (six winning numbers) six times in a row.

    Politics is a game of deceit. This probably explains why the majority of those able to vote don't bother. Even though we have a government, I know that it was voted in by a minority of our voting population. If there was an option to vote for 'no confidence', more people would probably vote, if only to demonstrate their dissatisfaction at the current crop of imbeciles.

    Report on 25 April 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • Aquasponge
    Love rating 38
    Aquasponge said

    The Tories got 36% of the vote in the 2010 election and failed to get a majority. In 2005 Labour got 36% of the vote and won a massive majority.

    Perhaps the facts say it all.

    Report on 25 April 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • Smith1959
    Love rating 0
    Smith1959 said

    Watching the news today all i heard was this is very disappointing from Camaron and co, But they will stick with there plans ?? Surly they must relies that its not working !!.In my opinion they wish to cut there debts ,but as more and more loose there jobs and claim jobless money and benefits to pay there rent etc etc ,they have to borrow more money to cover all this. Its a no brain er , Give the poor more and we will spend more !!! Which means ,more jobs for us in the long run ,Then they will get more money in vat and tax and have to pay less benefits. = Happy Days !!!! , Come on Tories you will not win again if you dont change your ways !!

    Report on 25 April 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • dealtn
    Love rating 1
    dealtn said

    CuNNaXXa please bare (sic) in mind that the election result gave the Conservatives 306 seats, Labour 258 and Lib Dems 57. How does your logic present this as the Labour party holding more seats than the other parties? Whatever strength the rest of your argument holds is immediately dismissed by either your ignorance or your belief in something incorrect.

    Report on 26 April 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • CuNNaXXa
    Love rating 362
    CuNNaXXa said

    I stand corrected on one point, but stand by the simple fact that the majority of those eligible to vote, don't.

    Why is there such apathy towards such a serious event? Probably because the majority have come to realise that it doesn't matter who gets in, we are screwed whatever.

    I have just received the latest update from the FairFuelUK campaign, who are concerned that more publicity is being given to the Pasty Tax than rising fuel prices. Apparently, five hundred thousand people have signed a petition trying to get the government to reverse its decision to add VAT to pasties, yet only half that number are actively supporting pressure to try and get DUTY on fuel reduced.

    I find it amazing that people can get screwed to the tune of £1.50 for a litre of diesel, and say nothing, yet add 20p to the cost of a pasty, which we might eat from time to time, and people get up in arms about it.

    Talk about getting priorities wrong.

    Still, our government are very, very, clever people. They can distract the electorate from serious issues such as rising fuel costs and the recession, by announcing that Pasties are going to be TAXED, backed by a media campaign by newspapers, all designed to distract us from what really matters.

    Very clever really...

    Report on 26 April 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves
  • yocoxy
    Love rating 132
    yocoxy said

    The Government didn't "announce that pasties are going to get taxed" they closed an anomaly that meant that hot fish and chips incurred VAT but a hot panini didn't. (Which of those is the food of the "working man"?) They simply applied VAT to all hot take away food.

    The real problems WERE caused by a electoral mistake. The country let a Labour Government rule for more than one term, so their big spending socialist policies got really out of control and virtually bankrupted us.

    Report on 01 May 2012  |  Love thisLove  0 loves

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