In the long line of UK government budgets, this first one from Labour in 14 years will be remembered as one of the more significant. Perhaps not like those of Geoffrey Howe in 1981, which controversially cut spending in the middle of a recession, or Hugh Dalton in 1946, which heralded the massive expansion of the welfare state.
But it was certainly on a par with Gordon Brown’s in 1997 when he signalled a change in direction after 18 years in opposition. Or more ominously, the crisis management budget of Norman Lamont in 1993, delivered in the aftermath of sterling crashing out of the ERM and a collapse of government economic policy.
