Summary
The UK economy held up better than anticipated under the impact of ongoing social distancing restrictions in late 2020, meaning the decline in GDP for the year as a whole will be less than previously projected. And while the new national lockdown will see GDP continue to fall between January and March, there is now a solid platform for growth to resume from Easter onwards. As a result, EY ITEM Club’s Winter Forecast predicts that UK GDP will rise by 5% in 2021, followed by a stronger increase of 6.5% in 2022.