HC Deb 07 July 1970 vol 803 c465
2. Mr. Lomas

asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer when he intends to introduce his first Budget.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Mr. Iain Macleod)

I must ask the hon. Gentleman to wait for an announcement in due course.

Mr. Lomas

Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that the whole country is awaiting with interest the first Tory Budget? Are we to assume that, in spite of all the talk of economic crises and possible devaluation, it can wait for a considerable period of time, or is it that the Chancellor of the Exchequer has stopped believing what his own party leader said during the General Election?

Mr. Macleod

If I might try to help the hon. Gentleman on that matter, the announcement in relation to the spring Budget is always made about five or six weeks in advance, as the House knows. If the hon. Gentleman is referring to what is called an autumn Budget, I have no intention of having an autumn Budget in the sense of a Budget Statement and a Finance Bill but, naturally, demand management is something that goes on the whole year.