Opportunity knocks for UK to reset relations

Most of the pledges the United Kingdom's Labour Party made in its manifesto before its victory in the general election in July, including enhancing the National Health Service, social care, education and child care pensions, depend on a resilient economy.

However, the British economy grew just 0.1 percent in the third quarter compared to the previous quarter. That's below the 0.2 percent growth expected by economists and follows an expansion of 0.5 percent in the second quarter of the year. And the UK economy shrank for the second month in a row in October as concerns about the Budget continued to weigh on confidence. Official figures showed a 0.1 percent drop, despite expectations that the economy would return to growth after a fall in September. Yet prices in the UK went up by 2.6 percent in the 12 months to November, the highest level for eight months.

That has apparently served to end Labour's honeymoon period earlier than expected, especially after a wave of far-right, anti-immigration protests and riots occurred in England and Northern Ireland from July 30 to Aug 4. The aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, the post-Brexit repercussions, and the impacts of the volatile world situation have all weighed heavily on the UK's economy, prompting the Keir Starmer government to reach out to the world's second-largest economy, laying aside the UK's concerns about the country in other fields.