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.
Share this..
Related stories
Kraft Foods looking to create jobs at Cadbury
Despite headlines over the last few days suggesting that Kraft Foods would introduce a cull of jobs at Cadbury in the UK it seems that the company has very different plans. It has been revealed over the weekend that Kraft Foods is actually looking to create more jobs in the UK in the medium to longer term after assessing the situation and cutting out any synergy savings in the short term. Wheth...
Read MoreWhat are the risks to the UK economy from a recovery?
As we covered in one of our earlier posts, inflation figures released today have confounded critics who believed that the UK economy will still in recession. Many analysts have been forecasting further falls in inflation although the CPI and the RPI figures were nowhere near as bad as forecast. While many people will now be cheered by the fact the UK appears to be pulling away from recession there...
Read MoreIs the UK really headed for a double dip recession?
Towards the end of 2009 it seemed as though the UK economy was on the verge of a sustainable recovery which could potentially save the Labour government from defeat at the next election. However, over the last few weeks the situation has deteriorated somewhat and there are grave fears of a double dip recession in the UK which would effectively undo all of the good work done by Gordon Brown over th...
Read MoreUK economy takes employment hit
Britain's labour market saw unemployment levels rise in April, figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show.In total 21,000 more people became jobless when compared with the previous quarter while the unemployment rate â€" the government's preferred measure focussing on those of working age â€" rose by 0.1 per cent to 5.5 per cent.Meanwhile the employment rate slipp...
Read MoreHow long will it take for the UK economy to recover?
The last few days have seen an increase in the number of sectors struggling to survive and companies making direct appeals to the UK government for state aid. We have seen the banks continue to struggle, retailers overtaken by their online rivals, the construction industry literally falling to its knees and even the once "safe" PFI sector has had to be bailed out by the UK authorities. So how long...
Read More