Calum and Kirsty are joined by James Chapman, who was an adviser to Chancellor George Osborne; and Karim Palant who was an adviser to Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, to take you behind the scenes of budget day. James tells us how the budget is even decided - including one measure that was kept secret from the Cabinet - they only found out about it when it was announced to the Commons. Plus, he discusses leaks that caused headaches for the government. Karim tells us about the room that opposition aides gather in to assemble messages and memos to run to the floor of the Commons chamber for the opposition response to be updated in real time. Kirsty wears her Number 10 hat - telling us that budget day is pretty relaxed for the Prime Minister - and wears her journalist hat to discuss the media briefing immediately after the budget. All of our guests were recorded independently - and every one of them mentioned the infamous pasty tax. Hear what they have to say about how budgets unravel. Email us anytime: [email protected].

First published 2023

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