UK 'turning a corner', registers 0.7% GDP growth

The UK economy has shown signs of recovery, registering a GDP growth of 0.7 per cent in the second quarter of the year, with the Chancellor of the Exchequer saying that the country is "turning a corner".
Latest gross domestic product (GDP) figures for the UK showed a growth of 0.7 per cent in the second quarter of the year, with predictions that the figures could reach 1 per cent for the third quarter.
"The economic collapse was even worse than we thought. Repairing it will take even longer than we hoped. But we held our nerve when many told us to abandon our plan. And as a result, thanks to the efforts and sacrifices of the British people; Britain is turning a corner," Chancellor George Osborne said in a speech today, ahead of the Conservative party's annual conference later this month.

"Of course, many risks remain. These are still the early stages of recovery. But we mustn't go back to square one. We mustn't lose what the British people have achieved. This is a hard, difficult road we have been following. But it is the only way to deliver a sustained, lasting improvement in the living standards of the British people," he added.
Last week the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) agency had also sharply increased its growth forecast for the UK economy this year to 1.5 per cent from an earlier estimate of 0.8 per cent.
Osborne said those who advocated an alternative economic path could not explain recent improvements in the economic data.

"Those in favour of a Plan B have lost the argument," he said.

The Labour party, however, accused him of "extraordinary complacency".
Opposition leader Ed Miliband told the BBC that the Chancellor was "saying to people that he has saved the British economy at a time when, for ordinary families, life is getting worse".
"If ever you wanted proof that the government is out of touch with most people, that it is on the side of the few, George Osborne has provided it today," he added.