John Healey's Budget claim that the UK grew fastest in the G7 "alongside the US" in the first half of 2026 holds up. The two countries are effectively level, so describing the UK as simply the fastest, with no qualifier, would overstate it.
According to the ONS, UK GDP grew 0.6% in the first quarter of 2026 and 0.5% in the second. The second-quarter figure was revised up from 0.4%.
Full Fact says the OECD's October revisions put the US ahead on rounded figures, with cumulative growth of 1.2% in the first half of the year against 1.1% for the UK. On unrounded figures the UK is ahead by around 0.006 percentage points. Full Fact says ministers' claims of top G7 growth were correct on rounded figures until the OECD revised them in October.
An LBC fact check gives a different rounded figure for the UK. It puts both the UK and the US at 1.2%, making them joint fastest in the G7.
Full Fact also notes that the UK's 0.5% growth in the second quarter of 2026 ranked third in the G7, behind Canada and the US.