The Economy

I have taken one intervention; I will not take any more. I am afraid that the Opposition are falling down already with their motion, but let us go on to the next phrase:"““in the last month retail sales fell by 1.4 per cent.””" [Interruption.] If hon. Members listen carefully, they might find that their interventions are prefigured. Not content with six months' worth, the Opposition have to go to the last month, but let us go back to the motion and what has happened over the past year. In the past year, retail sales have grown by 4.5%. I congratulate the Opposition on their motion, as we are seeing growth in the two key figures—GDP and retail sales—that we have considered so far. The next thing in the Opposition's motion is manufacturing output, which, it says, ““fell by 1.5%”” over the last month; but actually, over the year, it has risen by 1.3%.