1) The word “budget” derives from the term “bougette” – a wallet in which either documents or money could be kept.
2) A Chancellor delivering his Budget is the only MP allowed to take alcohol in the chamber.
3) When Norman Lamont was Chancellor in the early 1990s, his Budget bag contained a bottle of whisky. The speech itself was carried in a plastic bag by his then aide, William Hague. “It would have been a major disaster if the bag had fallen open,” Hague said later.
4) And Lamont wasn’t the only Chancellor to enjoy a spot of Dutch courage: Winston Churchill was a brandy man, Hugh Dalton liked milk and rum. Selwyn Lloyd supped whisky and water, while Hugh Gaitskell spiked his orange juice with a dash of rum.
5) The battered red box hasn’t been used since Osborne’s first Budget in 2010 because the authorities say it is too fragile. The box was made for Gladstone in 1860 and has served most chancellors since.
6) Sir Geoffrey Howe, Chancellor from 1979-1983, enjoyed the event so much he named his dog Budget.
7) Traditionally the Budget has been delivered on Tuesdays, though it can take place on any day (as today’s Wednesday Budget demonstrates).
8) The first annual Budget dates from the 1720s presented by Sir Robert Walpole – Britain’s first prime minister.
9) Income tax was introduced in 1799 “as a temporary measure” to help finance the Napoleonic Wars.
10) The monarch is the first person to be told of the Budget. Queen Elizabeth II has customarily invited the chancellor to dinner the day before Budget Day, where she is given an outline of the proposals.
