The British economy shrank at its fastest in almost 30 years in the first quarter of 2009, official data showed Friday. The news heaves fresh doubt on government hopes of a quick recovery.

AFP summarizes the findings as follows:

Gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 1.9 percent on a quarterly basis compared with a decline of 1.6 percent in the last quarter of 2008…

Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s spokesman rushed to deny accusations that Chancellor Alistair Darling had on Wednesday misled parliament by suggesting the contraction would be “a similar amount” to the decline at the end of 2008.

The first-quarter data for the economy, which has been in recession since mid-2008, was far worse than analyst expectations for negative growth of 1.4 percent, according to Dow Jones Newswires.

It was the sharpest fall since the third quarter of 1979 — the year that Margaret Thatcher was elected prime minister — and comes ahead of a general election that must be held by mid-2010…

The ONS added that the economy shrank 4.1 percent in the first quarter compared with the first three months of 2008. The annual output fall was the largest since 1980. Analysts had forecast an annual contraction of 3.7 percent.

Although bad news for the country at large and for its elected officials, Tories should be more hopeful than ever before. Prime Minister Brown pumped billions into the economy, saying it was necessary in order to revive it. Brits gave him a chance – even though he was far from popular – but everybody knew they would turn against him en masse if the stimulus plans would accomplish nothing.

And they have not, and will not.

Brown has been one of the worst prime ministers in modern history, perhaps even the worst. Not only did he spend like a drunken sailor during good times, he continued doing so when the economy collapsed. Young Brits have a massive debt, even though they did not spend anything yet. Why? Because Labor refused to act responsibly, and promised voters something for nothing.

Not only is Brown incompetent, he is also a liar. He told voters that the economy would certainly recover in the course of 2009, and grow again in 2010. The International Monetary Fund and other experts disagree: the IMF predicts that the British economy will contract by 0.4% in 2010.

To cut a long story short: I do not for one second believe that Labor will make a comeback in the polls. David Cameron and his party can look forward to a massive victory next year.

Let’s hope other European countries follow suit.