September presented us with two consecutive very positive announcements on economic growth. The Office of National Statistics is always cautious (as befits statisticians!) but the upshot of corrections is that the economy has grown much more since the pandemic than previously thought – it is now 1.8 per cent larger than prior to the pandemic. Billions have been added to output since the end of 2019 and our economy (contrary to previous reporting) has grown faster than both Germany and France.
Our economic resilience through a once-in-a-century pandemic and energy shock unseen since the 1970s is as impressive as it is welcome. Economic growth is of real importance to all of us, it enables us to fund public services such as education and our NHS, it helps us provide a safety net for the most vulnerable, lets us support pensioners who have helped build our country (notably through the triple lock) and it permits reinvestment into our economy, thereby creating a virtuous circle.
There is no denying that we still face difficult economic circumstances; Putin’s brutal invasion of Ukraine compounded the inflationary impact of our emergence from the pandemic. However, there is light at the end of the tunnel with inflation set to be halved from its peak by the end of the year.
For decades the South East has been the huge driver of the national economy. Growth is always positive but I welcome this Government’s focus on levelling up and investment in those parts of the UK which have historically missed out. This will help to develop a more resilient and effective economy while also “deheating” the pressure on housing and services in the South East.
At the Spring Budget the Chancellor announced the transfer of Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) core functions to local authorities. Last week, alongside fellow West Sussex MPs, I joined a meeting with WSCC to discuss their plans to boost productivity growth, investment, innovation and connectivity through the integration of LEPs.
Locally we have a great number of flourishing small businesses, many of which are expanding, and I am hopeful that the rollout in fibre broadband, painful as it can be during the roll-out phase, will further support their expansion.