UK economy shrank by 0.3% in April; Britain ‘turning into a National Health State’ – business live

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The increase in stamp duty payments at the start of April may also have hit growth.

Those changes meant housebuyers in England and Northern Ireland faced paying thousands of pounds more in stamp duty unless they competed their deals by the end of March – creating a cliff edge.

“The economy contracted in April, with services and manufacturing both falling. However, over the last three months as a whole GDP still grew, with signs that some activity may have been brought forward from April to earlier in the year.

“Both legal and real estate firms fared badly in April, following a sharp increase in house sales in March when buyers rushed to complete purchases ahead of changes to Stamp Duty. Car manufacturing also performed poorly after growing in the first quarter of the year.