So why should any of us pay close attention to the Budget? Well, it's one of the few occasions when a politician's speech directly affects our daily life.
The Budget will tell you about any increases in the price of alcohol, cigarettes and fuel.
You'll also discover how much income tax you're liable to pay, along with stamp duty, inheritance tax and corporation tax. If you're on child benefit, the new Budget may alter how much you get, while those of us with ISAs will find out how much we can save without paying any tax. Pensioners should also tune in to find out about tax free allowances and grants.
The Budget also fills us in on the bigger picture. You'll discover how much the Government is spending on schools, hospitals and our homeland security, and get an idea of the general state of Britain's economic health. All of which will help you make a more informed judgement on how well the Government is doing.
So it really does pay to take an interest in the Budget. And by the way, if you think all those taxes are a bit complicated, just consider that in the 19th Century people were even taxed according to how many windows their house had - leading many people to actually brick them up. See – some things really have changed for the better in politics.
Speech, speech
The Budget speeches themselves can vary wildly in length. The longest in history was given by William Gladstone, who in 1853 droned on for a brain-melting five hours.
But at least he had a speech to deliver - one Chancellor, George Ward-Hunt, stood up in Parliament and opened his red box only to find he'd forgotten his speech. Another one, Derick Heathcoat-Amory, was so stressed and fatigued that he actually fainted during his Budget speech.
There have actually been stories of Chancellors vomiting with fright before delivering their Budgets, so it's no wonder they're allowed to get a little boozed up for the occasion. According to tradition, the Chancellor is the only MP who is allowed to bring alcohol into the Commons, and then only during his Budget speech. Winston Churchill favoured brandy, while Kenneth Clarke liked to sip whisky during his Budgets. By contrast, Gordon Brown didn't bother taking advantage of the booze rule, preferring instead to partake of Scottish spring water.
