The UK economy grew more than expected in the fourth quarter despite extensive Covid-19 restrictions, but it remained smaller than it was before the pandemic and the outlook for the start of 2021 has darkened.
Output expanded 1 per cent in the three months to December from the previous quarter, according to data from the Office for National Statistics — a stronger showing than the 0.5 per cent forecast by economists polled by Reuters.
But the figures released on Friday showed UK output was down 7.8 per cent from the final quarter of 2019, twice the decline in Germany and three times the drop in the US. The differences reflect long periods of tough restrictions in the UK as well as generous US stimulus plans and tax cuts in Germany.
In 2020 as a whole, UK output fell 9.9 per cent, the fastest drop in 300 years and more than twice the drop during the financial crisis, laying bare the full scale of the pandemic’s impact.
Rishi Sunak, chancellor of the exchequer,…