A Budget like no other – amid a situation that hopefully won’t last much longer

Hopefully the vaccination programme will allow a return to something like normal service next year, writes James Moore

Rishi Sunak gives an address to the public from 10 Downing Street (PA)

Welcome to the worst day of the year,” a former city editor of mine would always intone as she opened our news conference on the morning of the Budget.

Nobody argued with her description.

Prior to the financial crisis, which regularly pushed business news on to the front pages and the top of TV news bulletins, it was, in theory, the financial hack’s day in the sun.

As that quote demonstrates, it was something we’d cheerfully have done without. Budgets typically required everyone to rush around madly to get the regular city news out of the way in the morning and then rush around madly again after the chancellor – currently Rishi Sunak – had sat down.

It wasn’t just stories on the main points of his speech that had to be done either. The really interesting stuff is often to be found hidden in the raft of press releases issued after the speech. So they would have to be winnowed out and written too.

What made the exercise much easier to bear was the camaraderie. The were usually sandwiches laid on, sometimes even drinks. And if not, there was always the pub down the road.

Disability means I’ve been working from home for a decade now, and it’s fine. I dealt with the changes a large chunk of the British workforce have been adapting to recently years ago. I found I could be very productive without the distractions of the office.

But on Budget day I miss it. Getting across London is an obstacle course for me, but I still like to try and get in if possible. It’s the sort of event where a communal workspace really comes into its own; when comparing notes and water cooler conversations are invaluable.

There’s also a lot to be said for camaraderie on one of the busiest days of the year. The day hasn’t been improved in the least by the fact that so many of the main points are now pre-announced and/or leaked by government media managers.

Being around other journalists also, I think, helps with the coverage of the event. And the aftermath – with the dissection of the Budget always lasting a few days.

Hopefully the vaccination programme will allow a return to something like normal service next year.

Given the economic situation facing Britain, it’ll be some time before we see a “normal” Budget. I fear that we might soon be pining for a bit of boredom.

Yours,

James Moore

Chief business commentator