Keir Starmer’s worst week in office wasn’t improved by the news that the UK economy grew by a feeble 0.1% in the final quarter of 2025, half what the consensus forecast of economists anticipated. After the leader of the Scottish Labour party called on him to resign for personally approving two scandal-mired appointments, Starmer, now the most unpopular prime minister in British polling history, did his best to put a brave face on poor numbers.

Last year’s 1.4% expansion in UK gross domestic product was better than the larger European economies, beating Germany’s 0.2% performance. The PM could argue that the glass was half full. The Bank of England, however, has cuts its prediction for this year’s uptick to 0.9% from its previous forecast of 1.2%. In the absence of a sustained economic improvement, this incoherent government — with or without Starmer as leader — faces a bleak future.

© Bloomberg