Hunt under pressure to cut taxes as Brexit Britain soars past France and Germany
Gross domestic product for the first three months of the years rose by 0.3 percent after initial estimates put it at 0.1 percent.
It means the UK economy is now thought to have grown by 1.8 percent between the final quarter before the pandemic hit and the second quarter of this year.
That puts the country’s economy ahead of both Germany on 0.2 percent and France’s 1.7 percent during the same period.
Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt said: “We know that the British economy recovered faster from the pandemic than anyone previously thought and data out today once again proves the doubters wrong.
“Since 2020 we have grown faster than France and Germany.
“The best way to continue this growth is to stick to our plan to halve inflation this year, with the IMF forecasting that we will grow more than Germany, France, and Italy in the longer term.”
It comes following a series of revisions to GDP estimates, which were made much more difficult during the pandemic and energy crisis.
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Earlier this month, the ONS said that it now thinks that GDP returned to its pre-pandemic level by the last three months of 2021, much earlier than first thought.
Taken together, recent revisions mean that GDP is around two per cent higher than it had thought to be previously.
Former cabinet minister Dame Priti Patel pushed for Mr Hunt to cut taxes, saying the burden is now at a 70-year high.
She said: “That is unsustainable. And the people that pay the taxes are hard-pressed Brits around the country.
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“As Conservatives, we believe in lower taxes. As Conservatives, we believe in being on the side of hard-working households and families. As Conservatives, we believe in hope and aspiration.
“That should mean lower taxes. The burden of tax has to start to come down.
“Reduce the size of the state and ensure that people keep more of their income. This is just a fundamental Conservative principle that we must stand by.”
Ms Patel said there is a need to “separate” tax and inflation, adding: “I do recall a rather successful Conservative prime minister, Margaret Thatcher, was able to tackle inflation while growing the economy.
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