The UK economy’s stronger than expected performance in August has been called a “sign of resilience” by Chancellor John Healey.
Healey told the BBC “it’s really tough in the face of these economic global shocks” as the latest official figures showed the economy grew by 0.1% for the month, defying analysts’ forecasts of a slight contraction.
It follows an upgrade to this year’s forecast for the UK economy from global watchdog the International Monetary Fund (IMF) earlier this week.
Mr Healey said he wanted “to give people a bit of breathing space from the cost of living and cost of business pressures”, promising to do so when he delivers his first Budget in two weeks’ time.
Healey did not elaborate on what measures he will take in the Budget, but promised “where we can take action, we will”.
But, vowing to keep up the government’s approach to fiscal discipline, Healey said “where we want to do things we have to make sure we can pay for them within the Budget that we’ve got and control spending”.
The latest figures from the Office for National Statistics showed the economy grew by 0.7% in the three months to August.
“It’s a sign of resilience in the UK economy that some had not expected,” Healey said.
The chancellor said the growth was “part of the discipline the IMF here in Bangkok this week has endorsed that they see in Britain”.
Britain’s economy was boosted in August by an increase in production, which includes manufacturing, oil and gas extraction and energy supply.
The services industry, which makes up the largest chunk of the UK’s economy, was flat during the month, while the construction sector contracted.
