Proceeds of growth must be fairly shared and used to tackle living standards crisis

Commenting on the latest GDP figures published today (Friday) by the Office for National Statistics – which show that the economy grew by 0.8 percentage points in the third quarter of 2013 – TUC General Secretary Frances O’Grady said:

“It’s good that growth is back, but the real test for the government is whether the proceeds will be fairly shared and used to tackle the living standards crisis. If the recovery only flows to the better off residents of London and the South East then today’s news will make little difference to most people.

“While any growth is better than none, the economy is still 2.5 per cent smaller than it was before the recession, with manufacturing 8.9 per cent below peak and construction faring even worse. There is little to boast about in an unbalanced recovery, delayed by three years, combined with the longest decline in living standards since the nineteenth century.

“On top of this there are real worries about whether these trends are sustainable given that so much seems to be based on house price inflation and increased borrowing by consumers. The last time we tried that it did not end well.”

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