UK ‘to face worst downturn of major economies’ in 2023, says OECD

Britain facing recession which much of world will avoid, says report

The government was today accused of sending the country into an economic “doom loop” after new forecasts suggest Britain will rank bottom of the growth league table for major economies for the next two years in succession.

The finding from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) came as prime minister Rishi Sunak warned his cabinet of a bleak winter ahead, due to soaring inflation, strike threats and spiralling NHS waiting lists.

Britain’s prospects were sharply downgraded by the intergovernmental think tank, which forecast GDP will shrink by 0.4 per cent in 2023 and grow by just 0.2 per cent in 2024. As recently as September, it was expecting the UK economy to flatline next year.