One of Britain’s most beloved inventors, James Dyson, did not hold back in criticizing the Tories after seeing UK’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) fall by 0.1%, as reported by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
While inflation was reported to have improved and significantly decreased to 3.9%, the same could not be said for the country’s economic growth, which appeared to have fallen even further in the last few months.
Dyson: ‘Inflation isn’t the enemy’
The ONS had previously reported that the UK’s Monthly GDP had not grown in the three months leading up to October 2023—a sharp contrast to the growth the GDP showed in the three months leading up to July 2023—this time, however, the institute reported a 0.1% decline in the third quarter, which soured sentiment among Britons ahead of Christmas.
GDP is estimated to have fallen by 0.1% in Quarter 3 (July to Sept) 2023, revised down from the previous estimate of no growth.
Meanwhile GDP is now estimated to have shown no growth in Q2, revised down from the previous estimate of +0.2% growth.
➡️ https://t.co/KjTIdncntf pic.twitter.com/xb7H0dRZKD
— Office for National Statistics (ONS) (@ONS) December 22, 2023
And this alarming statistic triggered a reaction from Dyson.
Wealth Generation
Speaking to The Telegraph, Dyson said that ‘wealth generation’ and ‘growth’ have both become dirty words under Sunak’s administration and that he has always believed that ‘inflation isn’t quite the enemy everyone thinks it is.’
In an effort to bring down inflation, the Bank of England had to increase the interest rate fourteen times, which, in turn, had an astronomical impact on the nation’s GDP.
Dyson then remarked that if the country has growth, then a bit of inflation wouldn’t matter.
“If you get inflation down and kill growth, I think you’re in trouble,” he added.
Dyson compares Sunak to Liz Truss
Dyson even compared Sunak’s administration to that of Liz Truss’ and thinks the latter had the better performance.
In contrast to Sunak, Truss had more specifically designed her government to accommodate growth. However, the effects of it led to a collapse in the value of the pound and an increase in the cost of mortgages and government debt.
While the majority saw Truss’ strategy as a flop, Dyson praised it and said that they were “doing the right thing.”
Dyson added that he’s disappointed now that the current government is not going for growth.
The UK faces the risk of going into recession if the GDP continues to decline in the next quarter.
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