THE DAILY POLITICS Watch Daniel's film

Our lords and masters seem always to have been trying to part us from our cash in one way or another.

But as early as 1295, when Edward I wanted to raise taxes to fight the Scots and French, he thought it wise to get the backing of the Commons - because it gave his money-grabbing more legitimacy.

A little bag

The annual Budget first came about during Walpole's time in the 1720s. He was both PM and Chancellor. The word "budget" came from the French "bougette", a little bag. And from his little bag, Walpole certainly took some unpleasant pills and potions.

Paul Seward of the History Of Parliament Trust told me a few of them:

A window tax, a tax on male servants, a tax on pleasure horses - I'm not quite sure what pleasure horses were. The tax on salt was extremely unpopular - people called it grinding the faces of the poor. It was a very regressive tax, because everyone needed it.

If there's a date in Budget history which taxpayers dread, it's 1799. William Pitt introduced Income Tax - purely as a temporary measure, you understand.

In fact, it's still legally regarded as temporary and has to be renewed every year, but don't hold your breath that - after 207 years - Gordon Brown is about to abolish it!

Banging on

Putting on a performance is an essential ingredient in presenting a budget. Gladstone took holy communion, and then banged on in the Commons for a record four and three quarter hours.

Disraeli kept it short and sweet at 45 minutes. Macmillan stayed in bed most of the morning fretting about it. Ken Clarke told me he was going to have some fun:

I greatly enjoyed it! My presentation obviously went down very well to a demoralised party who wanted to be cheered up, and to the House Of Commons.

I got a tremendous reaction to the end of the speech. People were waving order papers and cheering; I kept pinching myself.

I think I produced the budget whcih had raised more taxation than any other in living memory, so I had to wonder whether they'd been listening to it!

THE DAILY POLITICS If you are cold, tea will warm you; if you are too heated, it will cool you; if you are depressed, it will cheer you; if you are excited, it will calm you. William Gladstone, sherry drinker Latest show

Sherry and beaten egg

Of course, all this speechifying is thirsty work - and the Chancellor's budget drink is a lifesaver. The only MP allowed to drink alcohol in the House of Commons is the Chancellor, on Budget day.

Ken Clarke sipped on neat whisky; Disraeli went for brandy and water; Goschen drank port; Gladstone had a strange mixture of sherry and beaten egg. Jim Callaghan took a modest tonic water, whilst David Heathcoat-Amory favoured honey, milk and rum.

And our own dear austere Chancellor? Surprise, surprise: he drinks water. Scottish, of course.

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