_(St_Edwards_Crown).svg) | |
| Presented | 2 July 1997 |
|---|---|
| Parliament | 52nd |
| Party | Labour Party |
| Chancellor | Gordon Brown |
|
‹ 1996 1998› | |
The 1997 United Kingdom budget (officially titled Equipping Britain for our Long-Term Future)[1][2] was delivered by Gordon Brown, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, to the House of Commons on 2 July 1997. It was the first budget to be presented by Brown during his tenure as Chancellor, and the first Labour budget to be presented since April 1979. The 1997 budget marked a significant change of direction in economic policy following Labour's election win in May 1997. Among the measures announced were a five-year plan to reduce the budget deficit, a £5.2bn[a] windfall tax on recently privatised utilities which was to fund Labour's planned Welfare to Work scheme, and a reduction in VAT on fuel. The budget was welcomed by business, which viewed it as fiscally responsible, but it was greeted less warmly by the UK's utility providers.
- ^ "Bygone budgets: June 1997". the Guardian. 3 March 1999. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
- ^ "CHRONOLOGY-The budget 1997–2006: Brown's decade". 16 March 2007. Retrieved 25 November 2022 – via www.reuters.com.
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