LONDON, April 19 Reuters Britain39;s national election, expected later this year, will take place against a backdrop of persistently slow economic growth, high public debt and little room to increase spending for whoever wins power unless they raise taxes.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak promises voters that a recovery from a costofliving crisis is underway while the opposition Labour Party, which is far ahead in opinion polls, accuses his ruling Conservatives of overseeing 14 years of economic failure.

Below is a summary of some of the challenges facing the world39;s sixthbiggest economy which appears to be emerging from a shallow recession but is still feeling the aftershocks of Brexit, the COVID pandemic and the energy price surge of 2022.

SLOW GROWTH

Britain39;s economy has been sluggish since 2010, when the Conservatives entered government under former leader David Cameron, shortly after the 200709 global financial crisis.

What growth there has been recently has been helped by the impact of high flows of migration. Gross domestic product per person has not increased since early 2022.

Finance minister Jeremy Hunt points to data that shows Britain39;s economy as a whole grew faster than Germany, France and Italy since 2010, albeit marginally.

But since the start of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2020, Britain39;s economic performance has been the weakest among the Group of Seven G7 economies with the exception of Germany.

WEAK PRODUCTIVITY

A big brake on the…