The National Institute of Economic and Social Research(NIESR) cut its British economic growth forecast to 2.5% this year: May 6, 2015

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06 May 2015    01:08GMT

A leading think tank cut its forecast for Britain's economic growth in 2015 on Wed, a day before a closely fought national election, but said strong consumer spending should keep the recovery on track.

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) also said none of Britain's main political parties had satisfactorily addressed the country's biggest economic problem of stagnant productivity.

NIESR cut its British economic growth forecast to 2.5% this year, from a previous forecast of 2.9% made in Feb. Last year, Britain's economy grew by 2.8%.
The downgrade reflected a weaker-than-anticipated 0.3% expansion in the 1st 3 months of this year rather than a rethinking of the British economy's prospects, NIESR said.
The pace of economic expansion will hold roughly around 2.5% in the years ahead, said NIESR, assuming that poor productivity growth picks up as it expects.

Officials at the think tank said they were disappointed that productivity was mentioned only a handful of times in the pre-election policy manifestos of Britain's main political parties.

But the rise of formerly fringe parties such as the pro-independence Scottish National Party n the United Kingdom Independence Party (UKIP) has fragmented the political landscape, siphoning off support from the 2 main parties.
Of 5 opinion polls released on Tuesday, the Conservatives led in two, Labour in one, and two showed them neck-and-neck.
Cameron, who is banking on one of the strongest economic recoveries in the developed world to get him re-elected, will make his final pitch to voters as he rounds off a 2-day road trip.

Stagnant polls have prompted him to refine his message, blending the promise of higher living standards with a warning that Scottish nationalists could hold to ransom a minority Labour gov't, cajoling it to spend and borrow more.
Miliband, who has put the future of the country's treasured but troubled health service at the heart of his campaign, will address a final election rally in northern England on Wednesday evening.

Over 45 million Britons are eligible to vote on Thursday, when polls will be open from 0600 to 2100 GMT.