CNBC UK Exchange: Reflections on Britain’s tough economic reality

Commuters cross London Bridge in London, England.Peter Summers | Getty Images News | Getty ImagesThis is the final edition of CNBC UK Exchange. I want to say a sincere thank you to everyone who has read, subscribed, shared the newsletter or got in touch since it launched. While this may be the last newsletter, the stories, personalities and businesses that have filled these emails certainly aren't going anywhere, and I hope you'll continue to follow them through CNBC's coverage.The dispatchWhen we launched CNBC UK Exchange just over 15 months ago, the U.K. economy had just enjoyed its best quarter of GDP growth in a year.It is no exaggeration to say that it has been a slow grind ever since.From growth of 0.6% in the first three months of 2025, the economy expanded by just 0.1%, 0.2% and 0.2% in the subsequent three quarters before, somewhat surprisingly, coming out of the blocks with a 0.6% gain for the first three months of 2026.That, as the then-Chancellor (or Finance Minister) Rachel Reeves was quick to remind listeners, was the best performance of any G7 economy, although strictly speaking, it was the joint-best showing along with Japan.Things have been less encouraging since: ...