‘A bit like non-uniform day’: This is what it’s like on Budget day when you work at Westminster

It’s a strange feeling, knowing that you’ll have to implement whatever is announced in your bit of the Budget and there’s nothing more you can do about it, writes Salma Shah

The process in the run up to a fiscal event is draining and arduous (Reuters)

Fiscal events are funny things. If you’re not in the Treasury, it’s a bit like a non-uniform day. You’re still there, doing your job but everything is just a little different. On days when all eyes are on the Treasury, everyone else in government gets to kick back and watch the chancellor’s statement like the average punter.

It’s a strange feeling, knowing that you’ll have to implement whatever is announced in your bit of the Budget and there’s nothing more you can do about it. You will have to call around once your statement is out, correct things for journalists, and be congratulated by or calm the stakeholders about the announcements they’ve just heard.

You will have some idea about what’s coming for you; but largely, you are like everyone else, waiting to see what is coming your way in full and working out the bigger picture of what it means for the government.