UK unlikely to return to recession

Kate Barker interview report

Bank of England policymaker, Kate Barker, said the UK is unlikely to return to recession.

In an interview over the weekend, Ms Barker, who is a former housing adviser to the Government, said it is possible, however, that the economy could contract for one quarter.

“It’s possible we will have a quarter when GDP falls, but I don’t think it will be a double dip. I would be surprised if we go back to recession but I think recovery will be bumpy and fragile,” she said.

The UK economy emerged from recession in the fourth quarter of 2009 by experiencing growth of just 0.3%.

All economists and reports have suggested that the recovery will be fragile, while some have expressed concern for a double-dip recession (whereby the economy goes into recession twice without having undergone a full recovery in between).

However, Ms Barker told Saturday’s Western Morning News the big freeze earlier this year hit retail sales but February’s business surveys had painted a more positive picture of the economy.

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