3 March: The Budget

 10 things you didn't know about the Budget:

1. The word Budget comes from the French word “Bougette” which means little bag.
2. The first person to hear what the Budget contains is the Queen. It is traditional for her to invite the Chancellor to dinner the night before Budget Day so he can spill the beans.
3. The longest budget speech was delivered by William Ewart Gladstone in 1853 and lasted 4 hours and 45 minutes. The shortest was given by Benjamin Disraeli in 1867 and lasted 45 minutes.
4. Alcohol isn't usually allowed in the House of Commons, but during the budget speech the Chancellor is allowed to drink whatever he or she likes, so they can enjoy a tipple if they want. George Osborne, Alistair Darling and Gordon Brown were all pretty boring and opted for Water, but Kenneth Clarke would have Whiskey, Geoffrey Howe had Gin and Tonic, Nigel Lawson had a spritzer and William Ewart Gladstone was partial to sherry and beaten Egg.
5. The budget is usually held on a Tuesday rather than a Monday to avoid any MPs from distant constituencies not making it back after the weekend due to travel difficulties. In 1980 it was held on a Wednesday because a new Archbishop of Canterbury was being enthroned on the Tuesday. In 2021 it's a Wednesday too, not sure why, probably some plague-related reason.
6. The debate following the budget speech can last for days.
7. The chancellor uses a special red briefcase to carry his speech to the House of Commons. He'll usually pose with it for photographs for the press on the day. William Ewart Gladstone was the first chancellor to use a specific briefcase rather than any old despatch box. The same box was used from 1853 to 1965 when James Callaghan decided to get a new one. Gordon Brown got another new one in 1997, but in 2008 Alistair Darling went back to the original. George Osborne then announced the original box would be retired for good, because it was getting too fragile to use. The key to the original box is missing.
8. In 1868 the then chancellor, Ward Hunt, got to the House of Commons and opened the budget box to get his speech out, only to discover that he'd left it at home.
9. It's been known for a chancellor to not put the speech in the bag on purpose. In the 1990s Norman Lamont carried a bottle of Highland Park whiskey in the box while the speech was in a plastic bag carried by his private secretary.
10. The longest serving chancellor was Gladstone, who spent 12 years and four months in the post.

Who's That Girl?

Matt Webster lives in a tower block and attends a failing school. He dreams of being a spy like James Bond. Little does he know that he is being watched by someone who can make him into even more than that – a superhero.

His first solo mission is to attend a ball at the Decembrian Embassy and discover who is planning to steal a priceless diamond. While there, he meets the mysterious Lady Antonia du Cane, and is powerfully drawn to her. It soon becomes clear, however, that Lady du Cane is not what she seems. Matt’s quest to discover who she really is almost costs him his career.

A modern day Guy Fawkes gathers a coterie around him with the aim of blowing up Parliament with a nuclear bomb. To achieve this, they need money. Lots of it. Selling the Heart of Decembria Diamond will provide more than enough. All that stands in their way is the Freedom League – but the League is beset by internal disagreements. Can the heroes put their differences aside in time to save the day?

Prime Minister Richard Miller and his wife Fiona grieve for their daughter, Yasmin, who has been missing for three years, and is presumed to be dead. Viper agent Violet Parker could hold the key to what happened to Yasmin, but Violet is accused of giving away the organisation’s secrets. She is to be executed without trial. Will she take her knowledge of what happened to Yasmin with her to her grave?

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