UK Business Activity Falls for the First Time Since 2023 – Guido Fawkes

UK Business Activity Falls for the First Time Since 2023

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More bad news lands on Rachel Reeves’ desk this morning. Latest S&P Global Services PMI survey shows UK business activity has slumped to 49.0 in April – marking the first contraction since October 2023, and a sharp drop from March’s 52.5. Export sales have taken their steepest dive since February 2021. The survey points the finger to high inflation caused by Reeves’ budget…

S&P’s Tim Moore said :

“UK service sector output slipped into contraction for the first time in one-and-a-half years as heightened business uncertainty weighed on order books during April. Input prices increased at the steepest pace since the summer of 2023 as higher National Living Wage rates and National Insurance contributions added to payroll costs in April. Prices charged inflation was also the strongest for nearly two years as service providers sought to pass on additional costs to clients despite fragile demand.”

‘Growth’, anyone?

UPDATE: Shadow business secretary Andrew Griffith says:

“This is yet another indicator of Labour’s terrible economic performance. It is shocking, but not surprising. Since getting in, Labour has trash talked the economy, hammered businesses and hiked taxes to record highs leaving families £3,500 poorer as a result. It has been a relentless war on business, and we will all pay the price.”