Finally some good news for the chancellor- will it last?

A think tank believes that the UK will have the third fastest growth in the G7 this year. James Moore analyses the figures

- James Moore

When the National Institute of Economic and Social Research speaks, people pay attention. Especially when it says: "You've got it wrong" to the Bank of England.

Britain’s oldest independent economics research institute did just that, in so many words, when it concluded that the UK will earn the G7 economic bronze medal this year by growing twice as fast as the Bank expects. That puts it in third place, behind Canada and the US, but ahead of Japan and the three European members, Germany, France and Italy.

Its growth forecast – 1.5 per cent – is hardly what you’d call an economy “going gangbusters”, to quote a certain Rishi Sunak. But its view will still come as music to the ears of embattled chancellor Rachel Reeves. The No 11 soundtrack has, if only for a day, switched to Beethoven’s Pastoral Symphony instead of Slayer. The Bank, which has faced heavy criticism over its forecasting record, last week downgraded its own GDP growth forecast, halving it from 1.5 per cent to 0.75 per cent.