JEREMY HUNT must not choke the demand for public service investment by repeating failed austerity policies, unions warned today as new data revealed Britain is hurtling towards a recession.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed today that gross domestic product (GDP) fell by 0.6 per cent in September — adding to a 0.2 per cent drop for the full quarter beginning July.

The drop was lower than was previously expected and is the biggest quarterly fall since early 2021 when Britain went back into a Covid-19 lockdown.

If the economy also shrinks in the final three months of this year — as experts predict — it would push the economy into a recession that could last for two years.

It comes just a week after the Bank of England forecast that Britain might be headed for an eight-quarter recession — the longest consecutive recession since records began in the 1920s.

Following the data, the Chancellor warned that he will be making “eye-watering decisions”, adding that there is a “tough road ahead” for Britain.

Mr Hunt said that he will be working to make a possible recession “shallower and quicker” in his autumn Budget, which will be unveiled on Thursday.

But this will include public spending cuts and tax hikes, as Mr Hunt insisted there is a “black hole” in the nation’s finances.

The TUC called on the government to use the Autumn Statement to boost the economy and to protect workers from soaring prices and the threat of one million lost jobs.

General secretary Frances O’Grady said: “The Tories crashed the economy — and now the country is on the brink of recession.

“[Prime Minister Rishi] Sunak and Hunt must not repeat the mistakes of [their predecessors David] Cameron and [George] Osborne.

“Tory cuts over the past 12 years have meant the slowest recovery for a century.”

Ms O’Grady said the government has a choice to build a “fairer and more resilient economy.”

“Rather than a recession, they should choose more funding for the vital public services like schools and our NHS, pay rises for our dedicated public servants that match the cost of living, and investment in green tech to meet the challenge of net zero,” she added.

The Scottish Greens said that the recession will have “Tory fingerprints all over it.”

Economy spokeswoman Maggie Chapman said: “Rather than protecting people and services, [the government] have chosen to hammer ordinary households and families with sky-high bills, soaring costs and a totally reckless Brexit while protecting their wealthy friends.

“Things can’t go on like this. It is totally unsustainable, and people will die.”

Shadow chancellor Rachel Reeves said the new figures are “another page of failure in the Tories’ record on growth.”

“Britain’s unique exposure to economic shocks has been down to a Conservative-led decade of weak growth, low productivity and underinvestment and widening inequality,” she said.

“We’re already set to be near the bottom of global league tables on growth, but all the Tories offer yet again is austerity.”

Iain Hoskins, 42, who runs three independent bars and restaurants in Liverpool, said he is “very nervous and anxious” about the next 18 months, adding that the government has done “nowhere near enough” to support small business owners.

“We’re not asking for handouts forever,” he said.

“It’s just making sure that the good businesses here can weather the storm and survive the next 18 months.”