Budget Day Nouveau:
your antidote to the annual news race
Every year, Barlow Robbins joins in the rush and publishes a detailed, technical
analysis of the main budget issues within 24 hours of the Chancellor’s speech. For
readers of this review, here is some slightly lighter reading on the budget theme.
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P9
The word “budget” is said to come from the old French word “bougette” which
means a small bag or purse for carrying coins. Similarly, the old French word
“bourse” comes from the Latin for purse and has now come to mean a stock
exchange, such as the old Paris Stock Exchange; our word ‘bursar’ has the
same origin.
The classic Budget day image is of the Chancellor holding out the red “budget
box”. First made for William Gladstone in around 1860, the original was used
by every Chancellor until Jim Callaghan, who had a new one commissioned (as
did Gordon Brown later). Gladstone’s original box was brought back by Alistair
Darling and George Osborne but has subsequently been retired; a new box
has been in use since 2011.
Gladstone didn’t last as long as his ministerial box, but he is our longest
serving Chancellor, having held the post for around twelve years during
various terms of office between 1852 and 1882.
Alcohol is banned in the Chamber of the House of Commons, except for the
Chancellor when making the annual budget speech to Parliament. Despite
the temptation, the last three Chancellors - Gordon Brown, Alistair Darling and
George Osborne - have all stuck to water.
The rush to report on the budget is not new. In 1962, American political
commentator Roland Arnold Young noted that the news was seemingly
reported on the street in minutes, “bringing the glad tidings: Tuppence Off
Beer: Income Tax Down.” This was not merely anecdotal: key parts of the 1947
budget speech were leaked to a reporter and news of a penny on a pint of
beer was actually printed in the papers before the Chancellor, Hugh Dalton,
could announce it. He resigned the next day.