Published: January 15, 2026 at 12:05 pm
November was always going to be an uphill struggle for the UK economy, but although activity was still super-sluggish the UK has not been completely defeated on its quest for growth.
There will be sighs of relief in Downing Street that the economy has shown more resilience.
The performance was helped by car manufacturing whirring back into life, with production returning to normal levels at Jaguar Land Rover following the devastating cyber-attack mid-way through the month.
Although the FTSE 100 has raced to fresh record highs, lifted by enthusiasm for multinationals with global reach and defensive characteristics, for now investor confidence in the UK’s prospects don’t seem to be following the same optimistic path.
A survey of Wealth Club’s high net worth investors shows that 68% say they are pessimistic about the outlook for the UK over the next 12 months.
While stagnation and slow growth look set to define the end of 2025, there are glimmers of optimism ahead, and we may already have passed the nadir of pessimism.
While unemployment looks set to rise, which is causing wariness for consumer-focused sectors, inflation is cooling and interest rates have been cut.
But fixing the UK’s productivity problem remains a big challenge and with no quick fixes available, significant growth is likely to remain elusive.