CHANCELLOR Rachel Reeves is "ramping up the risk of recession" with plans to impose a new era of Labour austerity, the SNP have said.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) cut its predictions for UK growth on Monday to 1.4% in 2025 and 1.2% in 2026, down from 1.7% and 1.3% in its previous predictions.
A separate report from the Resolution Foundation has warned that the UK labour market is "already in recession territory".
It comes amid reports Labour plan to slash the welfare budget by as much as £6 billion, with Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall expected to announce more detail on Tuesday.
SNP Westminster economy spokesperson Dave Doogan said the UK is heading for a another "lost decade" of decline unless Labour changes course.
For the world economy, the OECD said growth would slow from 3.2% in 2024 to 3.1% in 2025 and 3% in 2026, down from 3.3% previously forecast for both years, largely as a result of trade tensions sparked by US President Donald Trump.
Canada and Mexico have seen the biggest blow to their growth forecasts after Trump's move to impose harsh tariffs on imports from the countries, which were the first to be penalised, alongside China.
Last week, the British steel industry warned about the severe damage it is likely to endure on the back of Trump's tariffs.
Liam Bates, president of long products at Marcegaglia, a steel maker in Sheffield, said the tariffs are “very unhelpful”.
The move has prompted warnings of job losses in the already beleaguered UK steel industry, which counts the US as its second largest export market behind the European Union.
