The Guardian's budget trivia quiz

From left: Rishi Sunak, Gordon Brown, Gladstone the cat, William Ewart Gladstone, Iain Duncan Smith’s joy at the 2015 budget and Kemi Badenoch. Illustration: Guardian Design/EPA, PA, AP, Getty, BBC Parliament, UK Parliament

Full of painfully scripted jokes, odd minutiae about the tax system, the obligatory blaming of the 2008 financial crisis and “the mess we inherited” on the last Labour government, plus the threat that a rabbit is going to be pulled out of a hat, it is the day of the budget. Hooray!

And what better way to celebrate than by testing your budget trivia knowledge?

OK, there are probably better ways to spend your time, but why not do our quiz, get a decent score, and then share it with all your friends boasting about how much you know …

The Guardian’s Budget trivia quiz

1. As well as all the chancellor's plans for the new tax year, the budget also includes forecasts for the economy by the OBR. What does OBR stand for?

   1. Organisation for Budget Responsibility

   2. Office for Budget Responsibility

   3. Ombudsman for Budget Responses

   4. Office for Budget Responses

2. 

   What is the earliest any changes to the rates of duty on alcohol and tobacco announced in a budget can come into effect?

   1. 6pm the same day

   2. Midnight the following day

   3. Midnight the first Sunday after the budget

   4. When royal assent is given to the finance bill

3. How much is the standard tax-free personal allowance in the current tax year from 6 April 2019 to 5 April 2020?

   1. £8,700

   2. £11,850

   3. £12,500

   4. £13,128

4. 

   By tradition, the chancellor can drink alcohol at the dispatch box. Geoffrey Howe favoured gin and tonic, Benjamin Disraeli chose brandy and water. What was Ken Clarke's choice during the 90s?

   1. Spritzer

   2. Whisky

   3. Port

   4. Sherry and beaten egg

5. 

   When was the traditional red box first used?

   1. 1860

   2. 1893

   3. 1917

   4. 1932

6. 

   Who was holding up this abomination in 2015?

   1. Nick Clegg

   2. Norman Lamb

   3. David Laws

   4. Danny Alexander

7. In the 2019 to 2020 tax year, the maximum you can save in an ISA is..?

   1. £3,000

   2. £10,000

   3. £15,000

   4. £20,000

8. 

   William Gladstone made the longest continuous budget speech (to date) on 18 April 1853. How long did it last?

   1. 2 hours and 12 minutes

   2. 3 hours and 41 minutes

   3. 4 hours and 45 minutes

   4. 8 hours and 15 minutes

9. 

   Kemi Badenoch is one of six government ministers in the Treasury currently listed on the gov.uk website. What is her job title?

   1. Exchequer secretary to the Treasury

   2. Financial secretary to the Treasury

   3. Economic secretary to the Treasury

   4. Chief secretary to the Treasury

10. 

    What caused this horrifying image of Iain Duncan Smith during the 2015 budget?

    1. George Osborne announced the further rollout of universal credit

    2. George Osborne announced further benefit cuts

    3. George Osborne announced that the DWP would get more enforcement officers

    4. George Osborne announced the minimum wage would rise to £9 by 2020

11. 

    "The Collector" in Doctor Who story The Sunmakers was intended as a caricature of which Labour chancellor?

    1. Alistair Darling

    2. Denis Healey

    3. Roy Jenkins

    4. James Callaghan

12. Who has given the most budget speeches as chancellor

    1. Gordon Brown

    2. Benjamin Disraeli

    3. Denis Healey

    4. William Gladstone

13. 

    OBLIGATORY TRICK QUESTION: Which book did John McDonnell use as a prop when responding to George Osborne in 2015

    1. Mao's Little Red Book

    2. Marx's Das Kapital

    3. Orwell's 1984

    4. Tony Blair's A Journey

14. Who chairs the budget debate in parliament?

    1. The chairman of ways and means

    2. The principal deputy Speaker

    3. Both of them

Solutions

1:B - Formed in May 2010 by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition, it was established to provide economic forecasts and analysis of the public finances independent of the Treasury and the Bank of England, 2:A - According to the parliament website it is, anyway. After the chancellor finishes his speech, parliament quickly votes on a motion approving the provisional collection of these sorts of taxes, and your prices go up almost instantly, 3:C - Please note, your personal allowance may be bigger if you claim marriage allowance or blind person’s allowance. It’s smaller if your income is over £100,000. Oh the hardship. , 4:B - Clarke enjoyed a whisky. It was William Gladstone who preferred sherry and beaten egg. We are also quite curious how this "tradition" started, presumably at some point a chancellor just rocked up in the chamber straight from one of the parliamentary bars and everyone just went with it, 5:A - William Gladstone first started using the box in 1860. Callaghan used a new box in 1965 because of the state the old one was in. Gordon Brown had a third one made for 1997. George Osborne dragged the original out of retirement in 2010. Symbolism is important. It probably had a blue passport tucked into it and everything , 6:D - For some reason while in government, chief secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander decided to present an alternative Liberal Democrat budget, and then dutifully vote for the coalition one that George Osborne announced in parliament anyway, as he was part of the same government. No, we don't know why either, 7:D - ISAs were first introduced by the Labour government in 1999. There are now four types of ISA (cash ISAs, stocks and shares ISAs, innovative finance ISAs, lifetime ISAs). You can put money into one of each kind of ISA each tax year., 8:C - Imagine it, though. 4 hours and 45 minutes, 9:A - Previously parliamentary under secretary of state at the Department for Education, Badenoch's responsibilities include energy and environment taxes and the review into the costs of decarbonisation, 10:D - It's possible IDS was thrilled it wasn't going up to £10, 11:B - It's the eyebrows, isn't it? In 1977 script-writer Robert Holmes was unhappy with his relationship with HMRC, and so wrote a story where people on Pluto destroy a repressive tax regime, including throwing a tax collector off a roof and the caricature of Healey being flushed down the toilet. Still, Doctor Who only got political once it got "woke" with a woman in the role, eh?, 12:D - Gladstone gave twelve budget speeches. It just felt at the time like Denis Healey was having to do more, 13:A - Yes, it actually happened during an autumn statement rather than the budget but we just wanted to use the picture and make the Tony Blair joke, OK?, 14:C - OK, it was another trick question. They are the same person. The chairman of ways and means is the principal deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, and they have traditionally chaired the budget since the 17th century, because the Speaker apparently has divided loyalties between the house and the crown when it comes to tax-raising matters.

Scores

1. 13 and above.

   Excellent. Have you ever considered a job in the Treasury?

2. 9 and above.

   Well done. A glittering pub quiz career awaits you

3. 0 and above.

   Very poor. The OBR will not be pleased with your figures

4. 5 and above.

   Decent effort

• There are no prizes. It’s just for fun. If you do think one of the answers we’ve given is egregiously wrong, then email martin.belam@theguardian.com