Don’t get carried away with statistics: the UK still faces big economic challenges

Analysis: Britain's economy collapsed by almost 10% in 2020 and has still not recovered to pre-Covid levels

• UK economy grew by fastest rate since second world war in 2021
• Business live updates: UK economy grew 7.5% in 2021

Benjamin Disraeli famously warned against putting too much store in statistics, and the latest growth figures are a perfect example of why the former prime minister was right.

On the face of it, 2021 was an absolutely corking year for the economy. Britain has had some boom years in the postwar period - 1973 and 1988, for example - but the 7.5% growth last year was the fastest of the lot.