Twitter Jokes That Brits Have Lifted The Struggling Economy The Only Way They Know How

It’s official – the British love of pubs is saving the economy.

Well, it’s helping at the very least, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

It turns out that the UK’s monthly real gross domestic product – the value of goods and services produced by a country – is estimated to have grown by 0.2% in April this year, despite falling 0.3% the previous month.

That means monthly GDP is now 0.3% above pre-Covid levels dating back to February 2020.

This obviously isn’t amazing, but considering we’ve been narrowly skirting around a recession and deep in a cost of living crisis for some time now, it’s better than nothing.

So what’s behind this slight increase?

The ONS noted housebuilding and estate agents had a “poor month” due to rising borrowing costs, as did the construction sector and those in the mortgage industry, because inflation remains stubbornly high at 8.7%.

The Bank of England is expected to continue rising interest rates beyond the current level of 4.5%, possibly up to 6% by the end of this year. 

According to the ONS, the country’s fondness for our local watering holes has come in handy recently  – and that just might be behind this small change in our fortune, as trade in bars and pubs helped revive our numbers.

As the ONS’s latest report explains: “The largest contribution to the rise in consumer-facing services in April 2023 came from food and beverage service activities, which grew by 2.0%.”

BBC News even tweeted a headline about it, which read: “Bars and pubs help UK economy grow in April.”

Twitter obviously went to town...