London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Thursday, Oct 09, 2025

UK economic recovery slows as more COVID-19 curbs lifted

UK economic recovery slows as more COVID-19 curbs lifted

Following Friday's data, British finance minister Rishi Sunak said it was "great to see people back out and about thanks to the success of the vaccine rollout, and to see that reflected in" the GDP update.

Britain's economy grew for a fourth month running in May on further easing of lockdown measures but the rate of expansion slowed more than expected, official data showed Friday.

Gross domestic product grew by 0.8 percent in May as restaurants and pubs welcomed customers back indoors for the first time since the end of last year, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in a statement.

But that was down on April's 2.0-percent growth rate. The analysts' consensus had been for a slowdown to 1.5-percent growth in May.

"The economy grew for the fourth consecutive month, albeit at a slower pace than seen recently... (and) remains around three percent below its pre-pandemic peak," said Jonathan Athow, deputy national statistician for economic statistics at the ONS.

"Pubs and restaurants, who were again able to welcome indoor guests, were responsible for the vast majority of the growth seen in May.

"Hotels also saw a marked recovery as restrictions lifted," Athow added.

Offsetting a 37-percent surge in accommodation and food services activity was a 16.5-percent drop in production of transport equipment.

This was owing to the global shortage in semiconductors hitting car manufacturing, the ONS said.

In the three months to May, total UK output grew by 3.6 percent thanks also to strong retail sales, the ONS said.

Separate data showed UK exports rising in May, while imports dipped.

"May's weaker-than-expected increase in GDP underlines that the recovery to its pre-Covid levels will be drawn out," forecast Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

He pointed to a "fading of some initial enthusiasm when businesses reopened.

"Rising Covid-19 infections also appear to be prompting some people to work from home again and to visit shops and services venues less frequently."

Overall, the global economy has surpassed its pre-pandemic peak, data survey firm IHS Markit said at the end of June.

Following Friday's data, British finance minister Rishi Sunak said it was "great to see people back out and about thanks to the success of the vaccine rollout, and to see that reflected in" the GDP update.

More lockdown easing


The government on Thursday said that UK residents returning to England from the United States and most European countries will soon no longer have to self-quarantine if fully vaccinated against Covid-19.

The quarantine change will start from July 19, when the government hopes to remove virtually all coronavirus restrictions in England.

Additionally, the government is expected to announce a plan in the next fortnight allowing entry to fully-vaccinated foreigners and British expatriates.

Broader plans to ease social distancing, mask-wearing and other virus curbs come despite a surge in infections of the highly contagious Delta variant.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson argues that a successful UK vaccination campaign -- which has seen nearly two-thirds of adults fully jabbed -- has weakened the link between infections and hospitalisations and deaths.

However a group of more than 120 scientists and medical professionals have slammed the unlocking plans, calling them a "dangerous and unethical experiment".

In a letter to The Lancet medical journal, they cautioned that the move could leave thousands with long-term illness owing to so-called long Covid.

Britain has one of the highest death tolls in Europe, with more than 128,000 fatalities.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
France: Less Than a Month After His Appointment, the New French Prime Minister Resigns
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán stated that Hungary will not adopt the euro because the European Union is falling apart.
Sarah Mullally Becomes First Woman Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury
Mayor in western Germany in intensive care after stabbing
Australian government pays Deloitte nearly half a million dollars for a report built on fabricated quotes, fake citations, and AI-generated nonsense.
US Prosecutors Gained Legal Approval to Hack Telegram Servers
Macron Faces Intensifying Pressure to Resign or Trigger New Elections Amid France’s Political Turmoil
Standard Chartered Names Roberto Hoornweg as Sole Head of Corporate & Investment Banking
UK Asylum Housing Firm Faces Backlash Over £187 Million Profits and Poor Living Conditions
UK Police Crack Major Gang in Smuggling of up to 40,000 Stolen Phones to China
BYD’s UK Sales Soar Nearly Nine-Fold, Making Britain Its Biggest Market Outside China
Trump Proposes Farm Bailout from Tariff Revenues Amid Backlash from Other Industries
FIFA Accuses Malaysia of Forging Citizenship Documents, Suspends Seven Footballers
Latvia to Bar Tourist and Occasional Buses to Russia and Belarus Until 2026
A Dollar Coin Featuring Trump’s Portrait Expected to Be Issued Next Year
Australia Orders X to Block Murder Videos, Citing Online Safety and Public Exposure
Three Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize in Medicine for Discovery of Immune Self-Tolerance Mechanism
OpenAI and AMD Forge Landmark AI-Chip Alliance with Equity Option
Munich Airport Reopens After Second Drone Shutdown
France Names New Government Amid Political Crisis
Trump Stands Firm in Shutdown Showdown and Declares War on Drug Cartels — Turning Crisis into Opportunity
Surge of U.S. Billionaires Transforms London’s Peninsula Apartments into Ultra-Luxury Stronghold
Pro Europe and Anti-War Babiš Poised to Return to Power After Czech Parliamentary Vote
Jeff Bezos Calls AI Surge a ‘Good’ Bubble, Urges Focus on Lasting Innovation
Japan’s Ruling Party Chooses Sanae Takaichi, Clearing Path to First Female Prime Minister
Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Sentenced to Fifty Months in Prison Following Prostitution Conviction
Taylor Swift’s ‘Showgirl’ Launch Extends Billion-Dollar Empire
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
×