BUSINESS BREAKFAST: Speaker and busines expert Mark Tonks, chamber president Fred Pritchard, and Marilyn Castree and Chris Plant, of South Staffordshire Chamber of Commerce.THE ‘stagnant’ state of the UK economy is ‘disappointing but does not justify talk of recession’, a Burton business leader has claimed.
Chris Plant, spokesman for Burton and District Chamber of Commerce (pictured), spoke after figures were released showing the country’s growth dipped by 0.3 per cent in the last three months of 2012 compared to the previous quarter.
“The disappointing GDP (gross domestic product) figures could lead to renewed talk of a triple-dip recession, which could damage confidence,” he said.
“However, it is important to put this in perspective.
“The Office for National Statistics figures for the third quarter were inflated by ticket sales for the Olympics, and this creates a downward distortion for the fourth quarter.
“The overall economic situation remains one of stagnation, which is clearly disappointing and needs to be remedied, but does not justify talk of recession.”
Mr Plant said every effort should be made to minimise any harmful effect the growth figures might have on business confidence.
“To maintain credibility, the Government must persevere with spending cuts in key areas but be prepared to do more to support exports and investment to improve the supply potential of the economy,” he said.
