Responding to the ONS’ first GDP estimate for the fourth quarter of 2023, Dr Liz Cameron CBE, Chief Executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, said:

“A contraction in GDP for the final quarter of 2023 means the UK economy is in technical recession. Businesses were already clear about the challenges that they face, and this news should ring alarm bells for Government.

While this recessionary data is slight, it confirms what our own business research had been saying for all of 2023. That the economy remained persistently locked in a low growth cycle of stagnation as headwinds continued to weigh heavily on firms.

The Chancellor must use the upcoming Spring Budget in just a few weeks to set out his government’s plans to help business and the economy to grow.

Businesses need long-term certainty through an economic plan that relieves their cost pressures and helps unlock much needed investment.”