Rising UK consumer confidence gives Andy Burnham ‘golden opportunity’, survey says – business live
UK consumer confidence has risen sharply, presenting new prime minister Andy Burnham with what commentators describe as a "golden opportunity" to capitalise on improving public sentiment. The findings come from a survey by Opinium for the British Retail Consortium (BRC), which tracks how confident shoppers feel about the economy and their own finances, and matters because rising consumer sentiment typically feeds through into stronger retail spending and broader economic activity.
The survey showed confidence in the state of the economy improved to -28 in August, up from -36 in July, marking its highest level since lows recorded at the start of the Iran conflict. Personal financial situation expectations also rose slightly to -9 from -12, while planned retail spending increased to +8 from +1 and overall personal spending edged up to +15 from +13; personal saving intentions dipped slightly to -5. BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson attributed some of the improvement to increasingly optimistic Gen Z consumers. Separately, the report noted German factory gate inflation hit a three-year high in July at 3%, and US national debt topped $40tn for the first time.
- UK consumer confidence rose to its highest level since the Iran conflict began.
- Survey gives new PM Andy Burnham a "golden opportunity", says BRC.
- Gen Z optimism helped drive the improvement in sentiment and spending.
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Consumer confidence is a measure of how optimistic people feel about the economy and their own household finances, and it is widely watched because it tends to predict how much people will spend in the shops. In the UK, one closely followed gauge is compiled by the polling firm Opinium for the British Retail Consortium (BRC), the trade body representing retailers, and it is published regularly to track shifts in the public mood around spending and saving.
Andy Burnham became UK prime minister after a period of political turbulence, and his early time in office is being closely scrutinised for signs of whether the public's economic outlook is improving or worsening under his leadership. Economic sentiment surveys like this one are often used by commentators and opponents alike as an early indicator of how a new government's policies, or simply changing circumstances, are being felt by ordinary households.
This matters more broadly because consumer spending is one of the biggest drivers of the UK economy, so any sustained improvement in confidence could feed through into higher retail sales, more business investment and, potentially, a boost to growth figures that governments are judged on. Conversely, confidence surveys are volatile and can be affected by short-term events, so any single reading is usually treated as one data point among many rather than firm proof of a lasting trend.
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