UK Economy Barely Grows in Quarter Before Reeves’ Budget

UK economic growth almost ground to a halt in the third quarter after September’s activity was hit by a cyberattack on Jaguar Land Rover and the fear of looming tax hikes in the Labour government’s upcoming budget.

Gross domestic product rose just 0.1% compared with 0.3% in the second quarter, the Office for National Statistics said Thursday. Economists and the Bank of England had forecast a gain of 0.2%. In September alone, the economy contracted 0.1% as modest growth in services was offset by a sharp decline in manufacturing.