Seema Malhotra MP, Labour’s Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury responding to the ONS Quarter 4 GDP figures, said:
“This growth is welcome but there is no room for complacency from the Chancellor. This has been the slowest recovery in living memory and we are entering a period of global uncertainty without the long term investment we need for the future.
"It’s further disappointing that there continue to be few signs of the vital rebalancing of the economy. We continue to wait for George Osborne’s so-called ‘March of the Makers’, with construction still shrinking and manufacturing stagnating.
"That is why in a week when questions over the UK’s tax system have dominated, manufacturing and steel firms will be wondering about the lack of government support they get whilst the Chancellor praises an unfair tax settlement with Google which has shocked politicians, UK businesses and the public alike.”
ENDS