The British economy will soon be at full strength, says Jeremy Hunt

The British economy is gaining momentum and will soon return to full strength.

The facts speak for themselves. After a difficult few years following the pandemic and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, official figures published yesterday are proof that things are looking up.

Not only is our economy growing this year, with the fastest quarterly growth for over two years, but that growth was faster than any other G7 country. Faster than France, Germany, Italy and yes – even faster than the United States.

That’s not happened by accident. It’s because of the tough action we have taken to bring down inflation from highs of over 11% to 3.2% today, with a return to the 2% target expected in just a matter of months.

It’s because we’ve taken the long-term decisions needed to fire up the economy, including a huge expansion of government-funded free childcare to bring more parents into the workforce and tax cuts for working people and businesses who invest.

World-leading companies are taking notice, investing £2 billion in our country over the last week alone to build new facilities here in the UK and support thousands of skilled jobs.

And with energy prices falling, inflation going down, the state pension increasing by £900 this year, and a tax cut worth £900 for the average worker hitting bank accounts, Express readers will start to feel this difference in their pockets.

The strong economy we’re building also means more money for the services we rely on, like our NHS – which I prioritised with an extra £6 billion of funding at Spring Budget.

And because we’ve done all of this responsibly, we can put more money into defending the country to meet the challenges of a more dangerous world – raising the defence budget to 2.5% of GDP by 2030, the largest in Europe.

This is the result of sticking to the plan. A growing economy, inflation falling, taxes cut and more money for the things that really matter.

It’s a plan for pensioners, working parents and families right across the country. By sticking to our plan and taking the tough decisions, we will build a better future for everyone.