1) The First Budget
Strictly speaking the first Budget dates back to the 1720s when Robert Walpole was both Prime Minister and Chancellor of the Exchequer. His Budgets (they were not limited to one a year) were aimed at calming the waters after the major financial crisis of that time – The South Sea Bubble – some things never change!!
2) The Modern Budget
The Budget as we know it today dates back to 1860 when interference from the House of Lords on finance bills was curtailed by putting all the legislation together in one bill.
3) The Little Red box
The abiding image of any Budget is the red box the chancellor waves outside number 11 on the morning of the Budget.
The original wooden box was hand-crafted for Gladstone (when Chancellor), lined in black satin and covered in scarlet leather. Former Labour PM and Chancellor Lord Callaghan was the first to break with tradition in 1965 when he used a newer box.
In July 1997, Gordon Brown became the second Chancellor to use a new box for the Budget. The new box is made of yellow pine, with a brass handle and lock, covered in scarlet leather and embossed with the Royal initials and crest and the Chancellor's title.
4) The Longest Serving Chancellor
There have been many long-serving Chancellors but nobody comes close to Gordon Brown (our current PM) who actually delivered 11 consecutive Budgets between 1997 and 2007.
5) The Longest Budget Speech
William Gladstone was not known for being brief so not surprisingly he holds the record for the longest Budget speech – a marathon four-hour speech in 1853! Perhaps it is just as well Neil Kinnock never made Chancellor otherwise the record might have come under threat!
6) The Shortest Budget Speech
Gladstone and Disraeli, political foes of the Victorian age, were seen as complete opposites. So it comes as little surprise that Disraeli is said to hold the record for briefest Budget speech, at forty five minutes in April 1867.
7) Chancellors who Became PM
Chancellors who have also become Prime Minster include Lloyd George (seven budgets from 1909 to 1915) Winston Churchill (five budgets from 1925 to 1929), Neville Chamberlain (six from 1932 to 1937), James Callaghan (three from 1965 to 1967), John Major (one in 1990) and the current Prime Minister, Gordon Brown (11 consecutive budgets from 1997 to 2007).
8) Favourite Tipples
Chancellors can refresh themselves with alcoholic drinks during their Budget speech –but no other MP may do this. Ken Clarke's favoured a drop of whisky whilst Gordon Brown preferred nothing stronger than Scottish mineral water. Gin and tonic was Geoffrey Howe preference (incidentally Howe named his dog 'Budget'), brandy and water was Benjamin Disraeli tipple whilst Nigel Lawson opted for a spritzer . Perhaps needing extra protein for his mammoth speeches, sherry and beaten egg was William Gladstone's drink of choice.
9) Crazy Taxes
Paying for wars and setting up colonies means you have to raise money and lots of it! The easiest way to finance empire building was through taxation – and there was little deemed outside the taxman's reach. Various budgets introduced tax on anything from beer and land to salt and even bachelors! Another bizarre tax was placed on windows. Look around old houses and you will see many windows bricked in – this was done to lower tax payment We Brits are not the only nation to introduce daft taxes – in Russia there was a tax on beards!
10) The Arrival of Income Tax
Eventually many of these taxes proved inefficient – Britain was seemingly always at war or gearing up for it. So in 1798 Pitt the Younger introduced income tax for the first time to boost the public purse. Since then it has been the curse of many and something that politicians are forever tinkering with to win votes!