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New figures due to show health of UK's economy - BBC News New figures due to show health of UK's economy - BBC News
(32 minutes later)
Anthony Reuben
BBC Verify
On 4 January 2023, the prime minister set out his five priorities. Some critics argue GDP doesn't take into account whether the economic growth it measures is sustainable.
Recently we examined Rishi Sunak’s progress – in particular the one on “growing the economy". Just because GDP is increasing, it doesn't mean an individual person's standard of living is improving.
The government has never publicly said what measure should be used to assess if it had met the prime minister's pledge to "grow the economy", despite repeated requests. If a country's population increases, it pushes GDP up, because with more people, more money will be spent.
In some private briefings to journalists, sources said it would be if the economy was bigger in the three-month period of October to December 2023 than in the previous quarter (July-September). Unpaid work such as caring for children or elderly relatives isn't captured - neither is inequality.
That was not achieved in February as figures showed the economy shrank 0.3% in the last three months of 2023 - sending it into recession. GDP growth also doesn't show how income is split across a population - rising GDP could result from the richest getting richer, rather than everyone becoming better off.
That pledge to grow the economy was made more difficult by the government's promise to halve inflation. The Bank of England put up interest rates 14 times to stop prices rising so quickly. However, this also reduced spending, and slowed economic growth. Despite its limitations, GDP is still the most widely-used measure for most government decisions and international comparisons.
You can read more here about the progress Rishi Sunak has made on his five promises
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