22/04/2013-28/04/2013 - Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Chancellor of the Exchequer is the person responsible for all the money in the United Kingdom. It is the most important job after the Prime Minister and if they have to step down for any reason the Chancellor will take over, this was seen with the Labour Government when Tony Blair stepped down in 2007, Gordon Brown the then Chancellor took over. The current Chancellor of the Exchequer is George Osborne of the Conservative Party.

The Chancellor is situated in the House next to the Prime Minister, 11 Downing Street. This house is not seen often except on Budget Day where the Chancellor has to come out of the House and hold the famous Red Briefcase alongside with some cabinet members who have assisted him with the Budget . The Chancellor has a team of Junior Ministers and Civil Servants who serve him continuously.

The original Budget Box was used in 1860 to 1997 and can be viewed in the ‘No’ Lobby in the House of Commons. Gordon Brown was the second chancellor to use a brand new budget box.

There was a tradition that stopped with Alistair Darling whereby before the Budget Speech the Chancellor was allowed any drink of their choice, this included alcohol. Most chancellors had the traditional Whisky for the so called Dutch courage. The most unusual choice was sherry with a beaten egg as drank by William Gladstone.

George Osborne is the current Chancellor as of 12^th May 2010 in the coalition agreement. He has been a Member of Parliament (MP) since 2001. He is Oxford educated and has worked for the Conservatives since then as a researcher, adviser and speech writer. In 2005 he ran David Cameron’s campaign to become party leader, the was then appointed Shadow Chancellor.