GDP figures – Cable responds

Liberal Democrat leader Vince Cable has branded the latest growth figures "weak". Vince Cable said: “We have weak economic growth presided over by a weak government, and this is likely to keep us near the bottom of the international growth league. Manufacturing has actually fallen by 0.5% due largely to a slump in car production, while construction has also fallen. Only the service sector has enabled us to have very modest growth. “We are continuing to see the effects of a weak pound which has hit wages and consumer confidence. It has only been the spending of shoppers, based on consumer debt, that has kept the economy going. This lack of demand is due to ministers insisting on an extreme Brexit that is creating uncertainty and reducing investment. “More fundamentally, this shows the need for a re-balancing of the economy and a proper industrial strategy to ensure that Britain makes high quality products that the rest of the world wants to buy.”