Whilst research into historical trends following the general election demonstrate we’re likely to see a growth in construction activity following the vote, the Office of National Statistics has released data showing construction output fell in the first quarter of 2015.


The drop in the growth of the construction industry coincided with a slowdown in the overall economic growth of the UK which slowed to around 0.3%, where construction declined around by around 1.6%. Much of the decline has been blamed on the uncertainty created by the general election campaign, however it’s generally agreed that construction output will grow again following next week’s election.


Month on month figures suggest the construction industry rebounded in March, however this will only be confirmed later on this year. Year on year figures show that construction grew 2.4% overall on the first quarter of 2014.


It’s been cautioned that the data is subject to revision and there has been a huge growth in the number of large construction projects gaining planning permission over 2015 so it’s likely that this figure will be revised upwards. Anecdotally, as a builders merchants in Preston selling construction products to tradespeople and construction firms throughout the UK, we've seen a significant growth in demand for building supplies and get a sense of the construction industry is in rude health.