Could Gordon Brown call a snap election?
While yesterday's announcement that the UK has officially moved out of recession was welcomed across the board, the disappointing growth of 0.1% was far less than analysts expectations of 0.4%. There is also a possibility that the figure could be downgraded in the short term as this initial figure is only the first estimate from the Office for National Statistics. There is growing speculation that Gordon Brown may well be forced to call a snap election if it appears that the UK is falling back into recession because this would scupper his plans to put himself forward as the champion of the economy.
Whether or not we actually see a snap election remains to be seen but what seems more and more evident is that Gordon Brown's carefully crafted plans for a 6 May election are coming under pressure. It seems as though the government was banking upon a strong economic upturn as we approach the general election to ridicule Conservative plans to cut spending. This would move the focus to Gordon Brown's investment, investment, investment strategy which appears to have worked so far - although perhaps not as well as he had hoped.
The next few weeks are sure to be volatile and Gordon Brown now appears to be at the beck and call of the UK economy.
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