Nigel Lawson, Baron Lawson of Blaby, was a British politician and journalist. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as Member of Parliament for Blaby from 1974 to 1992, and served in Margaret Thatcher's Cabinet from 1981 to 1989. Prior to entering the Cabinet, he served as the Financial Secretary to the Treasury from May 1979 until his promotion to Secretary of State for Energy. He was appointed Chancellor of the Exchequer in June 1983 and served until his resignation in October 1989. In both Cabinet posts, Lawson was a key proponent of Thatcher's policies of privatisation of several key industries.
Norman Stewart Hughson Lamont, Baron Lamont of Lerwick, is a British politician and former Conservative MP for Kingston-upon-Thames. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1990 until 1993. He was created a life peer in 1998. Lamont was a supporter of the Eurosceptic organisation Leave Means Leave.
Richard Edward Geoffrey Howe, Baron Howe of Aberavon,, known from 1970 to 1992 as Sir Geoffrey Howe, was a British politician who served as Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1989 to 1990. A member of the Conservative Party, he was Margaret Thatcher's longest-serving Cabinet minister, successively holding the posts of chancellor of the Exchequer, foreign secretary, and finally leader of the House of Commons, deputy prime minister and lord president of the Council. His resignation on 1 November 1990 is widely considered to have precipitated the leadership challenge that led to Thatcher's resignation three weeks later.
The 2011 United Kingdom budget, officially called 2011 Budget – A strong and stable economy, growth and fairness, was delivered by George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 23 March 2011.
The 2012 United Kingdom budget was delivered by George Osborne, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on Wednesday 21 March 2012.
The Gang of 25 or the Group of 25 was a cohort of British Conservative Party backbench members of Parliament (MPs) that threatened to vote against prime minister Margaret Thatcher's 1981 Autumn Statement. The statement contained monetarist measures to control inflation. Similar measures introduced since 1979 had reduced inflation but caused job losses in the manufacturing sector.
The 1972 United Kingdom budget was a budget delivered by Anthony Barber, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, on 21 March 1972. The budget is remembered for its large tax cuts, and led to high inflation and demands for higher wages, as well as the 1976 sterling crisis when the UK government was forced to ask the International Monetary Fund for financial help. It also led the Conservative Party to abandon "Post-war consensus" policies.
The June 1979 United Kingdom budget was delivered by Geoffrey Howe, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 12 June 1979. It was Howe's first budget and the first of the first Thatcher ministry, which had been elected a few weeks earlier. It was also the second budget to be delivered to Parliament in 1979. The budget marked a major change in direction for the UK economy, with an increase in reliance on interest rates and monetary policy to control inflation. It is also noted for its introduction of substantial tax cuts, such as reducing the top rate of income tax from 83% to 60% and the basic rate from 33% to 30%. The budget also saw an increase in VAT from 8% to 15%.
The April 1979 United Kingdom budget was delivered by Denis Healey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 3 April 1979. It was the first of two budgets to be presented to Parliament in 1979, and the last to be presented by Healey and the Labour Government of James Callaghan. It was also the last Labour budget to be presented until 1997.
The 1988 United Kingdom budget was delivered by Nigel Lawson, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 15 March 1988. It was the fifth budget to be delivered by Lawson during his tenure as Chancellor, and marked major changes to taxation, with reductions in income tax and changes to inheritance tax rules, as well as changes to mortgage interest relief that prevented homebuyers from being able to pool mortgage allowances. The changes announced to mortgage relief ultimately helped to further fuel an ongoing property boom which led to a rise in inflation and an increase in interest rates. Due to frequent disruptions during the Chancellor's speech, Deputy Speaker Harold Walker was required to suspend proceedings in what was described as an outbreak of "grave disorder".
The 1996 United Kingdom budget was delivered by Kenneth Clarke, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 26 November 1996. It was Clarke's fourth budget, the last to be delivered during his tenure as chancellor, and the last budget to be presented by the Conservative government of John Major before the party was defeated by Labour in the 1997 general election. Prior to Clarke's budget statement being presented to the House of Commons, its contents were leaked to the Daily Mirror, which returned the document to the government but decided to print some of the details, thus helping Tony Blair, then the leader of the Opposition, to prepare his response. Clarke described his statement as one that outlined a "Rolls-Royce recovery – built to last" and predicted economic growth of 2.5% for 1997 and 3.5% for 1998, but Blair dismissed it as "a last-gasp budget of a government whose time is up".
The 1995 United Kingdom budget was delivered by Kenneth Clarke, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 28 November 1995. It was Clarke's third budget, and one of the shortest budget speeches in modern history. In his statement, Clarke reduced the middle rate of income tax by 1p to 24p, and after announcing that his spending reductions for the previous year had exceeded expectations by more than £3bn, announced plans to increase spending on healthcare, education and policing. His budget was criticised by members of the Conservative Party for not including more tax cuts, while Shadow Chancellor Gordon Brown of the Labour Party dismissed it as "the 7p up, 1p down budget".
The March 1993 United Kingdom budget was delivered by Norman Lamont, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 16 March 1993. It was the third and final budget to be presented by Lamont during his tenure as chancellor, and the final spring budget to be outlined before the Conservatives unified their tax and spending plans into one budget statement.
The 1992 United Kingdom budget was delivered by Norman Lamont, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 10 March 1992. It was the second budget to be presented by Lamont. It was also the last before the 1992 general election, which was called the following day, and shaped the Conservative Party's election campaign for that year.
The 1986 United Kingdom budget was delivered by Nigel Lawson, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 18 March 1986. It was the third budget to be presented by Lawson, and saw the start of a programme of tax cuts initiated under the leadership of Conservative Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Lawson set the theme of his budget as "popular capitalism" and stated his wish to turn a nation of homeowners into a nation of shareholders. As well as a cut in the basic rate of income tax from 30% to 29%, there were other changes to taxation. 1986 was also the year the chancellor announced the launch of the Personal equity plan (PEP), a tax-exempt plan that would allow ordinary members of the public to invest up to £2,400 a year in equities. Labour leader Neil Kinnock, the leader of the Opposition, dismissed the budget as a "bits and pieces budget" that promised "jam tomorrow".
The 1985 United Kingdom budget was delivered by Nigel Lawson, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 19 March 1985. The second budget to be presented by Lawson, it was held shortly after the end of the year-long 1984–85 miners' strike. The chancellor said the cost of the strike on public borrowing had impacted on his plans for tax reductions, although he did make some changes to income tax personal allowances and stamp duty. Changes to National Insurance were also announced, but threatened to place extra costs on employers.
The 1983 United Kingdom budget was delivered by Geoffrey Howe, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 15 March 1983. It was the final budget to be presented before the 1983 general election and the last to be presented by Howe. He announced a programme of tax cuts worth around £2bn for individuals and £750m for business, as well as increasing personal allowances by 14%, 8.5% above the rate of inflation. Social Security benefits were also raised. The Conservatives went on to win the election, but Howe would subsequently be replaced as chancellor by Nigel Lawson in a post-election cabinet reshuffle.
The 1982 United Kingdom budget was delivered by Geoffrey Howe, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 9 March 1982. This was the fourth budget to be presented by Howe during his tenure as chancellor, and came at a time when unemployment had reached three million and the governing Conservative Party were unpopular in opinion polls. Howe painted a bleak picture of the UK economy and outlined a fairly neutral budget. As well as drawing criticism from the Leader of the Opposition, the statement was also condemned by the Conservative MP Ian Gilmour, who had advocated a reflation package worth £5bn. The budget was presented a few weeks before the Falklands War, an event that was to revive the Conservatives' fortunes.
The 1980 United Kingdom budget was delivered by Geoffrey Howe, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 26 March 1980. It was the second budget to be presented by Howe since his appointment as chancellor the previous year, and was noted for the number of leaks that appeared in the press before it was delivered. There were broad reductions in public spending, but increases in spending on policing and the military. Prescriptions were increased from 45p to £1, while benefits for striking workers were cut. Labour Party leader James Callaghan, the Leader of the Opposition, called it the most divisive budget since 1931.
The 1978 United Kingdom budget was delivered by Denis Healey, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 11 April 1978. It was the sixth and penultimate budget to be presented by Healey, and the first to be broadcast on the radio. It saw the chancellor unveil a programme of tax cuts worth £2.4bn, including reductions in Corporation Tax for small businesses, and Capital gains tax. A new temporary lower rate of income tax was also introduced, which would be abolished by Geoffrey Howe in the 1980 budget, while the basic rate of income tax was cut by 1%. Healey also reintroduced free school milk for children aged 7 to 11. He told the House that for once he was not asking people to make any sacrifices. Labour MPs gave the statement a lukewarm reception, while the Liberal Party, which had recently been in an alliance with the government following the Lib–Lab pact, were more enthusiastic. In her response, the Conservative leader, Margaret Thatcher, the then Leader of the Opposition, claimed the tax cuts would soon disappear.
