Blimey, here we go again – another day, another dose of fiscal self-sabotage from the Reeves Treasury!
Fresh from the ONS printer this morning: UK GDP contracted by 0.1% in October 2025, marking the second straight month of shrinkage after a 0.1% drop in September. Over the three months to October, the economy fell by 0.1% – the first rolling quarterly decline since December 2023. No growth since June, folks. Flatline city, with a side order of backward slide.
And the media circus? The so-called "experts"? They're all gobsmacked, clutching pearls and muttering about how this was "unexpected" and "weaker than forecast". City economists were pencilling in 0.1% growth for October alone. Surprise, surprise – it went the other way.
Give me strength!
If these ivory-tower pundits and Westminster bubble-dwellers ever pulled their heads out of their arses and actually talked to real people – you know, the ones running small businesses, juggling bills, or trying to scrape together a pension – they wouldn't be "surprised" one iota.
We've been screaming it from the rooftops: Reeves's pre-Budget leak-fest of tax hikes, employers' NI bombs, and inheritance death duties created a tsunami of uncertainty that froze investment, hammered confidence, and sent consumers battening down the hatches. Businesses delayed hiring, delayed spending, delayed everything while waiting for the Red Box guillotine to fall.
The numbers lay it bare:
- Services (80% of the economy): Flat as a pancake at 0.0% over three months
- Production: Down another 0.5%, with car manufacturing still limping from that JLR cyber-hit (only partial recovery in October)
- Construction: Slumped 0.3%
- Wholesale, retail, and scientific research: Major drags, offset by feeble picks in rental/leasing
This isn't some random blip. This is the direct fallout from Labour's "tough choices" – code for taxpayer torment. Reeves spent weeks drip-feeding the worst bits to her lobby mates, spooking markets, and now we're reaping the whirlwind: stagnation turning to contraction.
Yet the Treasury trots out the same tired script: "We're determined to defy the forecasts on growth..." Yeah, love, you're defying them alright – by making them worse!
Real people knew this was coming. The punters in the pubs, the shop owners watching tills go quiet, the families cutting back before the tax grabs even hit – they felt the chill months ago. But no, the "experts" were too busy schmoozing politicians and polishing their models to notice the bleeding obvious.
This is what happens when you weaponise uncertainty: growth evaporates, jobs get jeopardised, and the squeezed middle pays the price. Again.
Reeves promised "growth, growth, growth". What we've got is shrink, shrink, shrink. Time to face facts: the Chancellor's playbook is a recipe for recession. And if the BoE doesn't slash rates next week to counter this mess, we'll be staring down the barrel of something far nastier.
Stay vigilant, folks. Protect what you've got left – because this lot certainly won't.
Amazon Suggested Reads – Fortify Your Finances Against the Next Assault
- “The Death of Economics” – why government meddling kills growth
- “Survive the Taxman” – essential shields for your wealth in Labour's Britain
- “Recession-Proof Your Money” – because history repeats, and Reeves is repeating the worst bits
Ken Frost
Professional Cynic, Chartered Accountant and eternal Loanbuster
www.kenfrost.net – busting the myths since 2005
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