Parties clash over the latest growth figures as the economy grows by 0.6%

Britain's economy grew between April and June on the back of stronger spending by consumers and businesses and giving a boost to the government less than two years before an election. Gross domestic product (GDP) rose by 0.6 percent in the second quarter compared with the previous three months, in line with forecasts, preliminary data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has showed. That was double the pace of growth in the first three months of 2013 but the economy still remains smaller than before the 2008-09 recession, suggesting to some economists that it still needs nurturing by the Bank of England.

The numbers are a boost for the Chancellor George Osborne, who has fended off calls from the International Monetary Fund and the Labour party to spend more now to speed up growth. "Britain is holding its nerve, we are sticking to our plan, and the British economy is on the mend - but there is still a long way to go and I know things are still tough for families," George Osborne said in a statement. "So I will not let up in my determination to make sure we put right all that went wrong in our economy." Growing signs of a pick-up in the British economy have coincided with a narrowing of Labour's lead over the Tories in the opinion polls.

Commenting on today’s GDP figures, Liberal Democrat Treasury spokesperson, Stephen Williams said: "Fixing the economy was always going to take time, but these figures are further evidence that the Coalition’s plan is working. After wrecking the economy, Labour spent the last years rubbishing the Coalition’s growth plan. They were wrong. Slowly but surely the plan is working and the economy is recovering. It is particularly encouraging to see the construction sector growing so strongly, providing a much needed boost to house-building, and to see manufacturing on the rise. The Liberal Democrats are building a stronger economy and a fairer society, enabling everyone to get on in life. Getting growth going and creating jobs is at the heart of that. We have helped businesses create a million jobs, now we want to help create a million more."

Shadow Chancellor, Ed Balls, responding to GDP figures for the second quarter said: "After three wasted and damaging years of flatlining, this economic growth is both welcome and long overdue. But families on middle and low incomes are still not seeing any recovery in their living standards. While millionaires have been given a huge tax cut, for everyone else life is getting harder with prices still rising much faster than wages. This is also the slowest recovery for over 100 years. In America, where President Obama has acted to support rather than strangle the recovery, their economy has grown nearly three times faster than the UK since autumn 2010. Simply to catch up all the ground we have lost under David Cameron and George Osborne we would need growth of 1.3 per cent each quarter over the next two years."

Mr Balls continued: "Real risks remain. So instead of more complacency from the Chancellor, we need action to catch up all the lost ground and secure a strong and sustained recovery that everybody can benefit from. Labour would help families on middle and low incomes with a 10p starting rate of tax, paid for by a mansion tax. We would introduce a compulsory jobs guarantee for young people, paid for by a bank bonus tax, to help get the benefits bill down. And we would bring forward infrastructure investment now. If the £10 billion boost recommended by the IMF was invested in housing we could build 400,000 affordable homes and support 600,000 jobs. This is a One Nation economic plan which would ensure we have a strong and sustained recovery which is made by the many, not just a few at the top."