Last checked at 
LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - British consumers kept a tight
rein on their spending ahead of December's election, despite
being tempted by retailers offering heavy discounts last month,
surveys showed on Tuesday.
The British Retail Consortium (BRC) said overall retail
spending rose 0.6% year-on-year in October, marking the
strongest growth since April when spending was boosted by the
timing of Easter.
Still, the BRC said the longer-term outlook remained bleak,
with the 12-month rolling average of sales growth falling to a
new low of 0.1%.
"With Brexit still unresolved and a December election
creating new uncertainties, retailers will be looking nervously
at the months ahead," BRC chief executive Helen Dickinson said.
Consumers have propped up Britain's economy since the 2016
Brexit referendum, helping to offset reduced company investment.
But economists say recent signs of a weakening in spending
by households raise the risk of a recession as the country
prepares to leave the European Union.
Struggling baby products retailer Mothercare said on
Monday it intended to appoint administrators for its British
division - giving it temporary protection from creditors - as it
battled competition from supermarkets and online retailers.
The BRC showed that in like-for-like terms, which strips out
changes in retail space, sales were up 0.1% compared with
October 2018.
A separate survey from payment card company Barclaycard
showed consumer spending rose 1.5% in October in annual terms,
slowing from growth of 1.6% in September.
"Ongoing economic uncertainty combined with a bleak start to
autumn led many Brits to stay in rather than spend out last
month, choosing takeaways and evenings at home over socialising
at bars or restaurants," Esme Harwood, a director at
Barclaycard, said.
Just 17% of consumers surveyed by Barclaycard said they had
stocked up ahead of the Oct. 31 Brexit deadline, with tinned
food and toilet paper the top purchases of the minority who were
concerned about possible disruption from a no-deal Brexit.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce, editing by David Milliken)
