Another washout for Rishi Sunak as rain dampens UK growth

GDP figures are not strong enough to help in general election but not weak enough to prompt interest rate cut

UK economy flatlines in blow to Sunak Business live – latest updates

Rishi Sunak must be cursing the British weather. He got soaked to the skin when announcing the general election outside 10 Downing Street last month. Now it appears wet weather has brought a halt to the UK’s economic recovery.

Statisticians always caution against reading too much into a single month’s figures and on a quarterly basis things don’t look too bad for the prime minister. Indeed, the economy expanded by 0.7% in the three months to April, compared with 0.6% in the quarter ending in March.