Britain exits longest recession on record – just

The Times
"A change in GDP could emerge as the country gears up for a general election, which must be held before June 3, although Gordon Brown is facing calls for a poll as early as March.The ONS will publish its revised reading on February 26 and a final figure in March.The Government will have to battle even harder to sustain the recovery.The main drivers of the minimal growth in the economy came from the retail and motor sector, both of which have been propped up by government intervention.Colin Ellis, European economist with Daiwa Capital Markets, said: "These sectors will have been boosted by the pre-announced VAT rise in January and the car scrappage scheme — suggesting that, on an underlying basis, the economy only stagnated at best."
It has raised fears over the strength of the recovery as the VAT rise and the dire weather this month are likely to have hurt high street spending, and the scrappage scheme is scheduled to come to an end soon."