Interruptions

The Budget Speech is traditionally presided over by the Chairman of Ways and Means (one of the Deputy Speakers) rather than the Speaker. The origins of this go back to the time when the Speaker was effectively an agent of the crown and could not be trusted by the Commons to protect the privilege of its proceedings.

Parliamentary convention dictates that the Chancellor should not be interrupted during his speech (although Dalton, Cripps, Gaitskell, Maudling and Callaghan have given way to other members during their statements).

In 1985, Dennis Canavan (Labour MP for Falkirk West) used Parliamentary procedure to his advantage when he introduced a Ten-Minute Rule Bill before the Chancellor rose to speak. This was an attempt to call the Chancellor to account in front of a packed Chamber for the what Mr Canavan saw as the government's poor economic record.

Under standard Commons procedure, any member who proposes a Ten-Minute Rule Bill is allowed ten minutes to speak on the measure. Subsequent to this disruption to the normal ritual, however, the House of Commons Procedure Committee decided to change the rules and not allow Ten-Minute Rule Bills on Budget day.

In 1988, Alex Salmond was dismissed from the Chamber and consequently suspended from the House for a week after launching a verbal attack on Nigel Lawson during his 'Tax Reform Budget'. Following this incident, Mr Lawson's address was further interrupted by grave disorder in the house. Many Labour members repeatedly shouted 'shame' at the Chancellor's announcement that the top rate of income tax was to be reduced to 40%.

The House is Suspended