John Healey leaves No11 ahead of first Budget as Chancellor

The Chancellor continued the tradition of holding up his iconic red Budget box on the steps of No11.

Ex-Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone started the Budget box tradition after having a wooden case made around 1860.

The scarlet leather box, which is lined with black satin, served numerous Chancellors in the following 150 years.

However, James Callaghan opted for a replacement in 1965 and Gordon Brown introduced an alternative in 1997.

George Osborne, who served as Chancellor from 2010 to 2016, used Gladstone’s original red box in his 2010 Budget.

However, the historic box was retired for preservation shortly after and a new version made its debut in 2011.

Despite continuing the longstanding red box tradition, Mr Healey confirmed he will not enjoy a tipple while delivering his first Budget as Chancellor.

“I’m going to be drinking tap water,” Mr Healey said ahead of today’s crunch fiscal statement.

“I think those days are gone, but what I will do is make sure some Rotherham beer is available to Treasury officials after the Budget.”

While MPs are banned from drinking in the House of Commons, tradition allows the Chancellor to have a tipple while delivering the Budget.

Kenneth Clarke was the last Chancellor to make the most of the tradition, enjoying Scotch whisky at the despatch box in 1996.

Chancellors have had a variety of drinks of choice in years gone by, including Geoffrey Howe’s gin and tonic and Norman Lamont’s Highland Park whisky with mineral water.

Mr Healey will deliver his first Budget as Chancellor shortly after Andy Burnham’s weekly appearance at Prime Minister’s Questions.

The Chancellor is expected to extend the fuel duty freeze, offer targeted energy bill support and scrap gas standing charges.

He will also introduce a revived Help to Buy scheme and offer tax relief for pensioners and small businesses.

Despite resigning from Sir Keir Starmer’s Cabinet over defence spending, Mr Healey will not set out a timetable for raising military spending to three per cent of GDP.

The decision is expected to be deferred until a future spending review.

Tory leader Kemi Badenoch will respond to Mr Healey’s Budget in the House of Commons.