Mel Stride appeared on ITV’s Good Morning Britain to discuss the latest economy update, as he urged: “Let’s not pop the champagne corks yet,” in a blow to Starmer.
Mel Stride on Good Morning Britain (Image: ITV )
Good Morning Britain was halted on Thursday as hosts Susanna Reid and Richard Madeley gave a breaking update on Britain’s economy. They shared that it had grown by 0.7% from January to March.
According to the Office for National Statistics, the UK economy has grown at the fastest rate in a year over the first quarter of 2025. The new official figures show that gross domestic product (GDP) increased between January and March. Welcoming a smiling Mel Stride on to the ITV breakfast show, Susanna pointed out that Chancellor Rachel Reeves “seems to be getting it right”.
Susanna Reid quizzed the MP on GMB (Image: ITV)
But the Tory MP, who appeared on the show as a guest, soon hit back at that. While he continued to smile, he went on to bash the Labour party’s moves so far, since they gained power last July.
He explained: “Of course, any growth is good news. But let’s look at this closely. If you look at it month by month, from January through to March, in fact, the economy grew in February but 0.5% but that fell away in March to 0.2% so there’s a downward trend at the end there.
“All the major forecasters, the IMF, the Bank of England and the OBR for example, have halved their growth forecast from this year. And of course, what this data doesn’t capture is the National Insurance increases for insurers that are coming in, it came in in April and will be being paid about now.
“The increase in business rates that we are seeing right across the country and of course the employment legislation and the additional costs that that is going to bring. So let’s not pop the champagne corks just yet.”
Susanna said that it was good that the Tory MP had “recognised some good”, despite him listing off all of the things that could still be improved. She added: “You mention a point of difference that could affect growth, and that’s employer’s National Insurance rising. So, if you were back in power, would you immediately cancel that rise?”
He replied: “So, we would not have made that decision in the first place. We would have taken different decisions.” Mr Stride soon added: “We would have clamped down on welfare spending to a much higher, more effective way than this government.”
