UK’s G7-Topping Growth Confirmed Before Tax and Tariffs Hit

The UK economy grew strongly in the first quarter of the year, official data confirmed Monday, as Britons spent more and saved less before the Labour government’s tax hikes and extra US tariffs came into effect.

The Office for National Statistics said gross domestic product rose 0.7%, unrevised from the first estimate published in May. It was the strongest quarterly performance in a year and made Britain the fastest-growing of the Group-of-Seven economies.