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Official figures showed the UK returned to growth between July and September after a dip of 0.2% in the three months to the end of June. A technical recession is defined by two successive quarters of negative growth.
There were fears that Brexit uncertainty might have pushed the economy into further negative growth but Britain’s services sector – which encompasses a range of industries from film and TV production to banking and the high street – performed strongly enough to push the UK into positive territory.
The shadow chancellor, John McDonnell, said the sight of ministers celebrating 0.1% growth over the last six months was “a sign of how low their hopes and expectations for our economy are”. There was also a downward trajectory across the quarter after an increase in growth in July turned negative in August and September, pulling growth down to its lowest annualised rate, at 1%, since the first quarter of 2010. [...]