The date has been set for the end of October and Labour has already said there will be some difficult decisions. Previously I have written about the Budget but as this was some time ago, I thought it would be interesting to revisit, especially with all the history that surrounds it.
The Budget dates back to the 1720’s and was created to try and help public confidence at the time.1 The Budget is when the Chancellor of the Exchequer unveils their plans for the upcoming fiscal year, including the details of the Government expenditure and expected rates of taxation.
The briefcase in which the statement is carried from the Chancellor’s residence to the Houses of Parliament also has a long history. The very first was made of wood, in 1860 for William Gladstone, it was covered in red leather and lined with black silk, and although other briefcases have been used, this one had its final outing in 2010 under George Osborne and is currently exhibited in the Cabinet War Rooms.2
The only time alcohol is allowed to be consumed in the House of Commons is when delivering the Budget speech, although recent Chancellors, both Gordon Brown and George Osborne opted for mineral water, others such as Ken Clarke have used this privilege3. Apparently, in 1868 Chancellor George Ward Hunt left the Budget at home and ended up delivering one of the shortest Budget speeches in history after delaying Parliament for some considerable time.4
Proposed tax changes can come into effect straight away at 6pm, however any new taxes must be debated and can also be rejected.
There is always a lot of speculation in what the Budget contains but its secrecy is respected and it’s not until the speech is delivered that we can be sure of its content. Even after this it can be difficult to understand the implications of the speech on our own personal finances. So if you do want clarification of what the proposed changes mean to you after the Chancellor’s Budget speech, why not pick up the phone and utilise our free without obligation consultation.
1History Hit, 26th October 2021
2The Sun newspaper, 2nd March 2021
3The Sun newspaper, 25th Sept 2023
4History Hit, 26th October 2021