June 12 Reuters Britain39;s economy showed no growth in April after a strong start to 2024, caused in large part by rainy weather, but the opposition Labour Party jumped on the figures to attack Prime Minister Rishi Sunak39;s preelection claims of a turnaround.

Gross domestic product was flat in April as expected by economists polled by Reuters after a 0.4 monthonmonth rise in March, the Office for National Statistics said.

The figures followed labour market data on Tuesday that showed falling employment and rising unemployment, but continued strong wage growth.

Rachel Reeves, who stands to become finance minister if the opposition Labour Party wins the election, sought to use the data to attack one of Sunak39;s main election campaign messages.

Rishi Sunak claims we have turned a corner, but the economy has stalled and there is no growth, she said immediately after the figures were published.

The Labour Party is on course to win the national election on July 4, according to opinion polls which give Keir Starmer39;s party a roughly 20point lead over the governing Conservatives.

Sunak will still be able to point to strong economic growth in the three months to April, which reflects the recovery in the first quarter of 2024 from last year39;s brief and shallow recession.

The economy grew by 0.7 in the three months to April, the fastest expansion for almost two years, compared with the three months to January.

Still, the economy remains only 0.6 larger than it was…