A FAILURE to get pay rising will leave Britain on a “slippery slope to recession,” the TUC charged today.

The warning came after Office for National Statistics figures revealed that the economy grew by just 0.5 per cent in May as households tightened their belts in the face of soaring prices.

The consumer prices index inflation rate is currently at a 40-year high of 9.1 per cent, while the retail prices index rate, which is preferred by many unions as it includes housing costs, is at a eye-watering 11.7 per cent.

May’s gross domestic product figure, which was boosted by increasing demand for health services and holidays, was better than expected after experts predicted it would remain flat.

But modest economic growth is likely to prove short-lived as crippling cost-of-living pressures continue to hit consumer spending. 

Nadhim Zahawi, who replaced Rishi Sunak as chancellor last week, claimed he was not “complacent” about the economic challenges facing the country, but TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady demanded action. 

She said: “With growth still slow, the government must not allow the cost-of-living crisis to become a slippery slope towards recession.

“An economy can only grow if people keep spending. But with prices surging, spending is falling fast, and Conservative ministers are attacking workers who ask for a decent pay rise.

“Working people need a genuine cost-of-living increase to keep up,” she stressed, urging Boris Johnson’s replacement as prime minister — set to be confirmed by September 5 — to “put real wage growth ahead of tax cuts for the wealthy.”

Labour shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves warned that growth was “still far too slow.”

She said: “Over the last decade, Tory mismanagement of our economy has meant not only that growth has plummeted, but that living standards have fallen and real wages have failed to rise.

“Instead of presenting the plans we need for a stronger, more secure economy, the Tories are spending every waking minute indulging in unfunded fantasy economics.

“Any lingering sense that the Conservatives are the party of economic responsibility has been shredded to pieces.

“Labour will tax fairly, spend wisely and grow our economy. Only with Labour in government can we reboot our economy, revitalise our public services and re-energise our communities.”