GDP growth for 2025 revealed as ONS confirms UK economy barely grew under Rachel Reeves

Patrick O'Donnell
Tue, 31 Mar 2026 06:32:11 +0000

The UK's gross domestic product (GDP) rate grew 1.4 per cent over 2025 with the economy "growing a little" last year, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

Based on the latest figures from the statistics body, economic growth over the period jumped by unrevised 0.1 per cent in the final quarter of 2025 as Chancellor Rachel Reeves attempts to bolster the economy.

Notably, the ONS kept its forecast for the October to December quarter unchanged, after an unrevised growth of 0.1 per cent in the previous three months.

However, the institution raised its projection for the year as a whole to 1.4 per cent, up from the previous growth of 1.3 per cent recorded for 2025.

Liz McKeown, director of economic statistics at the ONS, said: “Our latest figures show GDP was unrevised in the last quarter of the year, with the economy growing a little.

"Services showed no growth, while production grew strongly, partially offset by a weak quarter from construction. Meanwhile, the household savings ratio increased and remains high by historic standards."

A Treasury spokesperson said: “In an uncertain world we have the right economic plan. The decisions we have taken have put us in a better position to protect the country’s finances and family finances from global instability.

"We were the fastest growing European economy in the G7 last year and now we’re going even further by using regional growth, artificial intelligence and a closer relationship with the EU to get our economy growing."

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Following the publication of last quarter's figures, the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) director placed blame on the decision-making made by Ms Reeves and the Treasury.

The Chancellor has come under particular fire over her move to raise the National Living Wage and the rate of National Insurance contributions for employers, with critics claiming it has raised costs significantly for the private sector.

Lord Frost said: "These figures are the predictable consequence of Government action that has piled costs onto businesses through the National Insurance rise and a raft of new employment regulations, while offering nothing credible in return by way of supply-side reform.

"Our continued stagnation tells you something important: an economy does not grow because ministers will it to — it grows when businesses have the confidence and capacity to invest.

"The Chancellor cannot keep blaming global headwinds when the damage is largely self-inflicted. If this Government is serious about growth, it needs to stop treating it as a slogan and start making the policy choices that actually deliver it."

Economists have warned that future GDP growth will be almost entirely dependent on how the US-Iran war will end, with President Donald Trump hinting at a potential end to hostilities.

John Wyn Evans, the head of Market Analysis at Rathbones. said: "Almost everything depends on how the war in the Middle East plays out, especially the duration of shipping disruption through the Strait of Hormuz.

"For example, Capital Economics' 2026 GDP growth forecast has a range from 0.1 per cent to 0.6 per cent vs its previous base case of one per cent. The ‘fog of war’, indeed."