Britain’s 10 most outrageous Chancellors

From rescuing prostitutes to contracting gonorrhoea, there is a lot many of us do not know about Britain’s former Chancellors. If you are finding Alistair Darling a bit dull, take a look at some of the exploits of his illustrious predecessors…

William Gladstone (1852 – 1855)

Famously known as the GOM (Grand Old Man – or God’s Only Mistake, according to rival politician Benjamin Disraeli), Gladstone’s most infamous pastime was the rescue and rehabilitation of London prostitutes.

A staunch Christian, his “charitable” excursions involved walking the streets of London to encourage the prostitutes he encountered to change their ways. Sometimes he went to the women’s homes for talks long into the night... Quite what his wife made of this, who was mostly at Hawarden, their home in Wales, remains unclear.

As Darling battles with the abolition of the 10p rate of income tax, it may comfort him to know that Gladstone had similarly unsuccessful attempts at meddling with income tax – after unsuccessfully trying to abolish it, he ended up raising it because of the Crimean War.

Benjamin Disraeli (1858 – 1859)

Disraeli, a great favourite with Queen Victoria, was one of Britain’s most flamboyant Chancellors. His humble Jewish origins made it difficult for him to enter parliament, and indeed his maiden speech was a complete disaster as he was mercilessly heckled and eventually forced to sit down with the words "though I sit down now, the time will come when you will hear me."

Disraeli’s early political career was also hampered by his controversial personal life. As a young man he travelled throughout Europe, where he contracted gonorrhoea – which may account for why he remained childless. After being implicated in a bizarre threesome with Lady Henrietta Sykes and Lord Lyndhurst on his return to England, he eventually married Mary Anne Wyndham Lewis, who was 12 years his senior and the widow of a colleague. Their marriage was very happy. In later years he teased her that he had only married for her money – to which she replied, “but if you had to do it again, you'd do it for love”.

George Ward Hunt - 1868

The vast George Ward Hunt arrived at the Commons in 1869 and opened the Budget box to find that he had left his speech at home. This is said to be the start of the tradition that, when a Chancellor leaves for the House of Commons on Budget Day, he shows the assembled crowd the box by holding it aloft.

At 21 stone, Hunt is the largest Chancellor on record. Disraeli had to reassure Queen Victoria before he was appointed that "he has the sagacity of the elephant as well as its form". However this proved to be a rather short sighted comment, as Hunt only lasted just six months in the job.

Winston Churchill (1924 – 1929)

Although Churchill is celebrated for his leadership during World War II, his stint as Chancellor was altogether less successful. Churchill announced in his 1924 Budget that Britain would return to the Gold Standard – a decision that resulted in deflation, unemployment, and the miners' strike. The return to the pre-war exchange increased costs to Britain’s coal and cotton industries by about 10 per cent.

These strikes led to the General Strike of 1926, when Churchill was reported to have suggested that machine guns be used on the striking miners. He later regarded the reintroduction of the Gold Standard as the greatest mistake of his life.

Denis Healey (1974 – 1979)

Another Chancellor with famously bushy eyebrows, Healy’s outspokenness frequently got him into trouble. His left-wing ideology of increasing benefits for the poor famously led to him saying that he would "Tax the rich until they squealed".

Healey once got into a shouting match with rebel Labour backbenchers on the floor of the Commons during division; he later recalled, when asked if the exchange involved shouts of bastards and f***er, that “I questioned their parentage when they praised my virility…..”

In 1976 he attacked left-wing opponents of his policies as being "out of their tiny Chinese minds", meaning to imply that they were Maoist, but offending the Chinese community.

Norman Lamont (1990 – 1993)

During the autumn of 1992 Lamont featured in a string of damaging press stories. The most notorious involved a sex therapist called Miss Whiplash  - a tenant who he was accused of evicting from his Notting Hill flat using £4,700 of taxpayer’s money.

His defenders point out that the money had been formally approved to pay for legal proceedings, and there was never any suggestion that he had ever met his tenant, let alone personally made use of her services. Still, the damaging association had been made.

On Budget day, the briefcase that Lamont waved at photographers contained a bottle of whiskey, while the speech itself was carried in a plastic bag by his then aide, William Hague. “It would have been a major disaster if the box had fallen open,” Hague said later.

James Callaghan (1964 to 1967)

Like Darling, Callaghan was Chancellor at a difficult economic time. He once told a journalist: “I don't think that other people in the world would share the view that there is mounting chaos” – prompting the mocking headline in The Sun “Crisis? What Crisis?”

Callaghan’s immediate predecessor, Reggie Maudling, popped his head into the Chancellor’s study as he was leaving No 11 and told Callaghan: ‘Sorry to leave things in such a mess, old cock’. It is still unclear if Maudling was referring to the economy or to the state of Callaghan’s new home…

Hugh Dalton (1945–1947)

As Dalton was on his way to deliver his 1947 Budget, he made the mistake of making some off-the-cuff remarks to a journalist, telling him of the tax changes in the Budget. This was printed in the early edition of the evening papers before he had completed his speech, and whilst the stock market was still open. Dalton – who was under great strain, suffering psychosomatic boils – resigned the following day, with the Prime Minister, Clement Attlee, calling him a “perfect ass”.

Rab Butler (1951–1955)

David Lloyd George once described Butler as "playing the part of the imperturbable dunce who says nothing with an air of conviction." In fact, Butler became a very competent and witty public speaker – at one dinner party he began a speech with the words: "An after-dinner speech should be like a lady's dress - long enough to cover the subject and short enough to be interesting.".

In his 1953 Budget he announced that the sugar ration would be increased from 10oz to 12 oz a week to help the nation make celebratory cakes for the Queen’s coronation that year.

Jimmy Thomas

Although Thomas was never Chancellor, he was another cabinet minister forced to resign over Budget leaks. It was revealed that Thomas had been entertained by stock exchange speculators and had dropped heavy hints as to tax changes planned in the Budget. For example, while playing golf, he shouted "Tee up!", which was taken as a suggestion that the duties on Tea were to rise.

By Lauren Thompson

With thanks to Richard Heffernan, Philip Cowley, Kevin Jefferys and Mark Garnett.

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Comments

[kevin]

A "certain" pub in Brighton has banned the present Chancelor from its premises. That's almost a scandal.

[jono]

I think Dennis said " squeeze the rich until the pips squeek".

[Richard Crow]

Interesting how, without hesitation, Dalton resigned within 24 hrs of his gaff. Yesterdays politicians were not a great deal brighter than those of today, but by God they were infinitely more honourable when it came to accepting responsibility for their errors.

[George Blagowidow]

Disraeli was not of humble origins: his grandfather, Benjamin D'Israeli, was born at Cento, near Ferrara, and came to London in 1748 where he became a successful businessman and member of the Stock Exchange.

[DOGEND]

THIS ARTICLE IS COMPLETE RUBBISH

[Ken Brown]

This article is extremely badly written and/or subbed.
The comment attributed to "Chancellor" James Callaghan was made, famously, when he was PM.

[Nicholas Clarke]

I can't believe you don't include Nigel Lawson in this list!! wasn't it his disasterous 1989 budget MIRAS tax blunder that caused the housing recession of the 90s, that must give him ranking in the top ten, surely!!!

[Andy Davies]

I think you forgot Gordon Brown in the list - the man who raised taxes for ten years but still couldn't make the books balance.

[Gwenda Blackwell]

To Richard Crow
To "The Times" reader of the time this was "humble origins" as was any family that had made their fortunes by working for them as opposed to having vast estates handed to them by their sovereign.

[james hazan]

Gonorrhrea, prostitutes and chancellors
One is more likely today to catch G from a sweet teenager than from a pro.

[Michael Brooks]

“Crisis? What Crisis?” was said by Callaghan as PM in 1979. Was not the sun a broad sheet in 1964 - 67

[davidc]

today attlee would have to call dalton 'an honoured collegue whose contribution to the country and to parliement is too valuable to lose
for such a minor misspeaking'

[David Roberts]

Surely Mari Antoinette should be on this list
During the btead ctisis what did she utter?
If they can't eat bread give them cake.
Hence you can't have your cake and eat it!

[John Fisher]

To Gwenda Blackwell.

You are are wrong on two counts:

a. Attitudes in the early nineteenth century, even among the aristocracy, were less rigid than the myth/stereotype that you uncritically repeat.

b. The Times was the paper of the rising middle classes. If anything, its average reader was of humbler origins than Disraeli.

[Peter Cowie]

Gordon Brown should feature in this list. He announced the abolition of the 10% tax band over a year ago, and no-one, with the exception of the admirable Frank Field, appeared to latch onto this at the time. Brown's theft in 1997 of £5 billion a year from pension schemes by blocking the recoverability of the 10% tax credit on dividends received by pension funds has penalised countless numbers of people, many of whom are of limited means, and led to the demise of many final salary pension schemes. Fuel crisis - what fuel crisis?

[Irene Bujman]

Kevin, I think you'll find the chancellor is barred from most of the pubs in the land.

He's certainly not welcome in the Frog and Fly.

[Peter, London]

Peter Cowie

The demise of Final Salary pension schemes is more attributable to the change in demographics that actuaries failed to spot, than Brown. The actuaries mistaken assumptions allowed Companies to take pension holidays, when they should have continued funding

You can't expect to finance a long retirement from a shorter working life, whatever Brown may have done, unfashionable as it is to admit.

[Nigel Wroe]

Don't forget Calamity Brown's disposal of the Nation's Bullion reserves at a knock down price which has cost more billions than Lamont's attempted support of the pound in the ERM.

[Lynne Jones]

This is a very badly researched and subbed article - what was the point of it?

[Tim Marks]

John Major and Edwina Curry and let's not forget the fiasco with the EMU when he was prime minister.

[David Fleming]

Callaghan said "Crisis what crisis" when being interviewed at a news conference on his return from a European leaders' conference which was held in the French Caribbean Island of Guadelupe. Blatantly, Mr Callaghan had enjoyed very generous hospitality on the flight back to the UK. At the time the UK was in the midst of the "Winter of disconnect" when many many public workers were on strike and the Unions were controlling the Labour Party and consequently the country.

[Ad Hoc]

To David

Marie Antoinette said "let them eat Brioche" not cake! It was intended to help the poor by distributing Brioche, but history was written by the victors, i.e. the revolutionaries, so they couldn't say anything favourable about her.

[John Johnson]

The article doesn't say that Callaghan made his "crisis what crisis" comment when he was chancellor. It may imply so but it does not explicitly say so. If you are going to be pedantic at least read it properly...

seems like yankee rubish to me

[Renee Delfor]

What private life has to do with politics or religion? Why are you all so frivolous?

[John Macgregor]

When the Times prints an article without acknowledging the author, one must doubt its veracity!

[Michael Brookes]

The winter of 1978/9 was known as the "Winter of Discontent", not the "winter of disconnect". The reference is from the opening lines of Shakespeare's Richard III.The Internet was not fashionable 30 years ago!

[mort]

hmm, darling?? darling???, yes sir... just sounds like a bad episode of black adder!! yes mr brown should be on the list.. but the topic is scandals not gross stupidity.. i doubt the man has it in him to raise a real scandal! and if he did it would be so boring we would not care...

[Londoner]

Disraeli´s father Isaac D´Israeli
was a well-known literary figure and country gentleman (owner of Bradenham)
Humble origins????

[Henry MacGowan]

In 1968 the KGB infiltrated the UK political system by funding the "Soviet Boys Brigade" whose senior member was a 14 year old from Dundee. His supposed father was a Minister in the Church of Scotland. "Global Reach" by highjacking the UK government was the KGB goal, by 2008. Guess what that Soviet Snake's name is?

[Barrie Walker]

It has never been proved that Gladstone had sex with these prostitutes. That is a supposition made by some people. People like you, perhaps.

[Ross]

The article was crap. So are most of the comments.

[Fishy]

Posted by: George Blagowidow | 1 May 2008 21:15:03

THIS ARTICLE IS COMPLETE RUBBISH
---------------------------

Yeah, nice argument there George...

[eestlane]

I think you'll find Norman Lamont's briefcase contained a bottle of whisky (Scotch), not "whiskey" (Irish/American).

[James Jameson]

seems like British trash to me, oh wait, it is...

this article scores a big who cares

[TrevorH]

'Crisis what crisis' or some such paraphrase was said by Prime Minister Callaghan.

Chancellor Callaghan devalued the pound. Wilsons subsequent 'pound in pocket' speech was another epiphanous moment for the electorate.

[Eric]

"yankee rubish" is that how the under-educated brits speak about us?

[Matt]

Disappointing-- that graphic on the home page seemed to promise all sorts of sordid stories about chancellors' sex romps-- the most racy thing described in here happened in 1859 (Benjamin Disraeli's supposed 3-some)!

Please. Since then a lot more must have gone on in the chancellors' chambers-- I mean, really!

Dirt! I wanna see dirt!!

[wilson]

"On Budget day, the briefcase that Lamont waved at photographers contained a bottle of whiskey ..."

As a Scot, Lamont (who these days pronounces his name wrongly) would have had a bottle of whisky, i.e. Scotch, not Irish or American whiskey.

[Grahame Thorne]

Wasn't it "let them eat Kaike which was a staple and not gthe cake we know now? It has been misinterpreted since

[Tom]

The line about squeezing the rich until the pips squeak is a famous misquotation - Healey never said anything of the sort.

Actually, is anything in this semi-literate article accurate?

[Tim]

Regarding Norman Lamont's whiskey [sic]: “It would have been a major disaster if the box had fallen open,”

Too right. He should have supported domestic industry by buying Scotch.

[Alex]

"A "certain" pub in Brighton has banned the present Chancelor from its premises. That's almost a scandal.

Posted by: kevin"

It's not a scandal, it's the legitimate right of every landlord in this country to allow or deny entry to anyone they choose, without having to give an explanation if they choose not to, although in this instance I'm sure the landlord will be only too happy to elaborate on his decision.

[Paul Bahre]

This list was supposed to be a list of sexual infidelities or indulgences. But it was not. It was too condensed to be meaningful. I feel like the writer or the times used bait and switch with the sexy legs, stockings and garters.

[BOB BAYLIS]

One of Our Gordon's irritating habits in his speeches and other addresses is that any group of which he approves is automatically described as 'hardworking.' He usually follows this descriptor with the intention to 'move forward' after he has 'listened.' He really is a crashing bore. Being a Son of the Manse one might ask why he does not adopt the standard phrase before the Collection: 'The Laird loveth the Cheerful Giver.'

[Phil Williams]

To Michael Brooks

The Sun has always been a broadsheet - at least in respect of Page 3...

[k. nicolls]

Rubbish!!! What a load of Rubbish

[james Tomasi]

What about the chancellor in office when the Yanks' had their Boston Tea Party?

[jo oldale]

yes. let's all carelessly bring about gordon's demise and ignore the fact that we are doing a damn sight better than most of our competitors. And forget just how bad it was in terms of social/ financial equality under the Tories... because that is what we're going to have to deal with again if we continue this witch hunt

[mike sanders]

What a great way to start the day reading all of the above, sitting here in hong kong I really do enjoy these jousts. Keep them coming but keep them clean!!

[Ray]

D'Israeli converted from Judaism so that he could enter politics. Being a Jew has always meant being of a lower class than socio-economically equal Christians in English eyes.

[ProzzyAnn]

As a hard working prostitute I am fed up with all these politicians and there fanciness. Core blimey a girl cant even make an indecent living without some overweight overdressed underperforming politician going on an on and on about their wives and the stress of their job and blathering on and on and on about how they want to save me. They always want to save me afterwards it seems. Time is money deary and I have to get back to the job in hand.

[Hein Maassen, Leidschendam, The Netherlands]

Perhaps it is interesting to know that the Sun pun on Callaghans denial of there being an economic crisis was derived from the title of the 1975 Supertramp album: 'Crisis? What crisis?'. The Sun reporter certainly knew his classics...

[the newton flyer]

if gordie 'mr bean' and the lefties are so wonderful why has everybody else voted them out? Is it because once again he leads us into recesssion and denies it is happening again? dreamer!

[Christine Shrimpton]

I must agree with Mike Sander - In Dubai skimming a British news website over spots in the afternoon, only to peruse repetitive messages from people too desperate to throw their opinion in without bothering to read or know anyone else’s.

I see the ‘one of the intelligentsia’ attitude trying to be put across, but from people clearly not having read the entire script thoroughly and then adding throw away comments which are completely unsupported by argument.

The rest of you I’ll let off from my rant, as the effort is clear.

As an ode to my News Years resolution which is to be more positive, the article achieved what in my opinion it was intended to do, provide light thinking amusement for 8 mins during the day by a means which is legal in public.

[Englishman]

this article scores a big who cares

Posted by: James Jameson | 3 May 2008 21:46:16

Why comment then?

[fleapit]

Eight minutes of light entertainment it might be, but the greatest enjoyment comes from reading the comments. They sum up our age and the internet perfectly: hasty, ill-formed and totally pointless.

[LIzX]

Why would we expect anything less?
All the prime ministers here, of course, have been men!

[michael scott]

The Gladstone comment is very sloppy. The only infamous connection with Gladstone's, extremely courageous, efforts to help prostitutes (I suppose people must have some idea of how appalling the conditions under which they lived) were the infamous comments of the low-minded sneering at one of their betters. Gladstone can reasonably be considered the greatest Prime Minister Britain ever had, and certainly the most high-minded.

[N Roberts]

"Britain's 10 most outrageous Chancellors: who picked up scores of prostitutes"

How did Dennis Healey and Jim Callaghan keep this out of the press at the time?

[amy]

you pulled me in with the suggestion that there had been lots of scandal at no.11. what do I find? A bunch of normal people with no interesting stories whatsoever. boring!

[michael story]

a good idea and fun to read but poor standard of journalism, demonstrates lack of knowledge
by misquoting Healey, Callaghan, and poor grasp of Disraeli and Gladstone, but then presumably the author was given all of an hour to write it and nobody cares,
What a state we are in
Michael

[kalyan mukherjee]

This article does not get a CLAP

[Chilled-out Entertainer]

Michael Story. You should relax - maybe sit outside and enjoy the sunshine. It's a light blog, not an essay...

[R.C. Aston]

I'm an American, and I noticed that the British characters, even when involved in scandals, do things in a colorful and interesting way and often have something witty to say. And when they make mistakes, they are still not trying to destroy their country.
Contrast that with Bush, Cheney, Obama and McCain. Bush can't put a sentence together without seeming like a slow 6th grader, Cheney is evil, Obama is completely unqualified and a liar, and McCain pledges to continue Bush's disastrous policies and stay in Iraq for 100 years. Bush, Cheney and McCain are all for Bush's war. Obama claims he was against it, but in 2004 he said, "my war policy wouldn't be much different than George Bush's." Then, when the war became unpopular, he switched back to his original position!
Give me these colorful, witty British characters over this vile pack of liars America is now contending with!

[Lewis J]

This is really lazy journalism, particularly Callaghan, who said 'Crisis, what crisis' as PM, some 12 years after he was moved from No 11. Any danger of The Times raising its standards anytime soon?

[darrelldeboo]

is it not time for gordon brown to added to your list, for selling our gold, gordon is a moron.

[Rob Evans]

The only thing I find outrageous is that such an inaccurate and semi-literate article should appear in The Times.