Britain's recovery picked up pace in the second quarter, official figures have confirmed, with GDP expanding by 0.6%.
George Osborne, the chancellor, welcomed the fresh evidence that the economy has moved, as he has put it, "out of intensive care".
"Britain is holding its nerve, we are sticking to our plan, and the British economy is on the mend," he said, "but there is still a long way to go and I know things are still tough for families. Unlike the unbalanced economy before the crisis, we are going to make sure that everyone benefits from this recovery."
Labour's shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, speaking from the US, said the stronger growth was "both welcome and long overdue" – but he stressed that for most families, living standards are still falling. "While millionaires have been given a huge tax cut, for everyone else life is getting harder with prices still rising much faster than wages." Balls added that the US economy has grown almost three times as fast as the UK's since mid-2010.
The 0.6% quarterly rate of growth was twice the pace of the first three months of 2013, and exactly as predicted by economists, after signs of a pickup in retail sales and strong readings in business surveys.
"The economy is coming out of the shadows, with a doubling in its quarterly growth rate from 0.3% in Q1 to 0.6% in Q2. The recovery is not quite on dry land yet, but at least it is a step in the right direction," said David Brown, of consultancy New View Economics.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said that all sectors of the economy recorded growth between April and June. Both industrial production, and the key services sector, expanded by 0.6%, the ONS said, with construction – which has been a heavy drag on the economy in recent quarters – picking up by a healthier than expected 0.9%.
Within services, which makes up almost 78% of economic output, the ONS said there was "widespread growth" with retail and hotels, transport and communications, and business and government services ,all showing an improvement.
John Longworth, director-general of the British Chambers of Commerce, said its members had become more optimistic in recent months. "Firms are feeling upbeat and are capable of expanding. More and more are adopting a 'have a go' attitude when it comes to exporting, which is really encouraging as this will go a long way to driving growth further still."
Measured at an annual rate, GDP was 1.4% higher than the same quarter a year ago, but the ONS stressed that the extra working day, after 2012 output was trimmed by the jubilee bank holiday, had flattered the calculation.
Despite the modest upturn, the economy still has not recovered the output that was lost during the deep recession of 2008-09: the ONS said GDP remains 3.3% below its pre-crisis peak.
The Treasury hopes that with the eurozone crisis in remission, the economy is now poised for a more solid recovery, after almost three years of flatlining. As recently as April, there were fears that after shrinking in the final quarter of 2012, the UK could have slipped into a renewed recession.
Chris Williamson, chief economist at City data provider Markit, said: "Prospects look good for a continuation of the recovery in the third quarter, with consumers and businesses both helping drive the upturn. There are even signs that exporters will see improved sales, helping drive the long-awaited re-balancing of the economy.
The relatively firm growth figure is also likely to influence the Bank of England's thinking, as it prepares to decide whether to deliver renewed stimulus to the economy in August. The new governor, Mark Carney, favours giving growth an extra fillip through so-called "forward guidance", which reassures financial markets and consumers that interest rates will remain low for a prolonged period; but other members of the Bank's monetary policy committee are known to be more sceptical.
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