The forecast is marginally lower than a previous one set by the Club. This was due to a slightly lower fourth quarter growth reading and the risk weak coalition government and a possible referendum on EU membership.

But the Item Club was more bullish about 2016, expecting growth to peak at 3%, slightly higher than its previous estimate.

Low prices, high employment, wages up

Inflation has fallen to zero in recent weeks, easing cost pressures on individuals, families and businesses. Meanwhile wages are up in general and people are starting to feel richer for the first time in several years.

Last week, the International Monetary Fund praised UK economic policy, with managing director Christine Lagarde saying “It’s obvious that what happened in the UK actually worked”. George Osborne is calling it the UK’s “jobs miracle”.

Item Club chief economic advisor Peter Spencer the economy is holding up well in the face of political uncertainty, while signs of a Eurozone recovery should also provide grounds for optimism for coming years.

"The economy is taking the general election in its stride as 'noflation' trumps politics. The eurozone recovery is bedding in and completes the positive UK growth picture that we anticipate for 2015 and 2016,” he said.

He pointed out that the UK had come a long way since the earliest days of the coalition government: "This is a mirror image of what we saw in 2010-12, when unemployment and inflation were high and Europe was in the doldrums.

"If the strength of the headwinds that held back the economy during the first years of the coalition is anything to go by, the tailwinds enjoyed by a new administration post 7 May should be strong enough to outweigh the effects of any political uncertainty."