GMB interrupted for breaking announcement and it's bad news for Rachel Reeves

Rachel Reeves was delivered a huge blow as Good Morning Britain delivered a "breaking news" update. Ed Balls and Susanna Reid hosted Tuesday's (September 30) of the programme, joined in the studio by Sean Fletcher to share the rest of the day's news. Ahead of her co-star's segment, Susanna declared: "I have a feeling Sean does not have good news as the Labour Party Prime Minister prepares his speech this afternoon?"

"Not for Rachel Reeves," Sean agreed as he announced The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that the gross domestic product (GDP) saw a 0.3% increase between April and June, following a 0.7% surge in the first quarter. He said: "Breaking news to start with in the last few minutes. The Office for National Statistics has released the latest official figures and it's not good news for the chancellor who had promised to make growing in the economy her main target.

"The latest GDP growth figures confirm that the country's economy is instead slowing down, with the rate of growth easing from 0.7 per cent to only 0.3 per cent from April to June."

This growth was fuelled by a 0.4% rise in services and a 1% boost in construction. However, the production sector witnessed a decline of 0.8%, while real household disposable income (RHDI) per head saw a modest increase of 0.2%.

The largest negative contributor came from the wholesale and retail trade sectors. The repair of motor vehicles and motorbikes dipped by 1%, while their wholesale trade also fell by 2.4%.

Chancellor Rachel Reeves has pledged to increase economic productivity in the forthcoming Autumn Budget, set for November 26.

Last month, government borrowing reached a five-year peak of £18 billion, putting strain on public finances. This has sparked concerns over potential new wealth taxes targeting high-value homeowners.

Economists at PwC previously stated that UK economic growth is "subdued but not stalling". They predict that UK GDP is set to grow by 1.3% in 2025, propelled by a stronger than anticipated performance in the first half of the year.

Reeves recently admitted to facing "harsh global headwinds" but remained adamant about maintaining control of public finances. She suggested that international events had inflicted "long-term damage" on the UK economy.