UK growth likely to rise above 1.5% next year, says thinktank

Plans to ease austerity slightly over next five years are not believable, according to NIESR

Britain's growth rate will bounce back above 1.5% next year as ministers exceed existing public spending budgets to cope with an ageing population, a leading thinktank has said.

The National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR) said plans to ease austerity only slightly over the next five years were "unbelievable". It added that government spending would almost certainly need to increase by more than expected in the next few years, increasing the UK's GDP growth.