THE UK economy grew by just 0.3 per cent in the first quarter of this year, a dramatic slowdown, official figures have revealed.
Today's weak figures from the Office for National Statistics are bad news for Chancellor George Osborne and his Coalition Government colleagues in the run-up to the General Election. The Conservatives have put their management of the economy at the centre of their election campaign.
The disappointing gross domestic product growth will raise further worries about the momentum of the UK's belated and unbalanced economic recovery.
The City had predicted growth of 0.5 per cent in the first quarter.
UK gross domestic product had risen by 0.6 per cent in the final three months of last year.
Howard Archer, chief UK economist at consultancy IHS Global Insight, said: "Given that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are hoping that many undecided voters will ultimately decide to vote for them due to their management of the economy, this marked slowdown in growth is particularly unwelcome news coming just over a week before the General Election."
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