Publications / Guides

What principles and rules govern the Budget process?

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MP in the House of Commons Chamber, 1 March 2023. ©UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak MP in the House of Commons Chamber, 1 March 2023. ©UK Parliament / Jessica Taylor

Parliament’s scrutiny and authorisation of the government’s taxation plans is fundamental to the political system. As the public’s representative body, it is Parliament’s responsibility to hold government to account – between elections – for the money it raises and spends.

This is the central constitutional principle underpinning the relationship between Parliament and government in relation to both taxation and expenditure. (For these purposes, the Crown is the government.) As Erskine May, the authoritative source on Parliament, sets out, “the Crown requests money, the Commons grant it, and the Lords assent to the grant”. This principle thus precludes Parliament from seeking to impose taxes (‘a charge upon the people’), or authorise expenditure, unless requested to do so by the government.

Control of taxation and expenditure can be exercised only by the House of Commons, not the House of Lords. As Erskine May states, the financial powers of the Upper House are limited ‘by the ancient ‘rights and privileges’ of the House of Commons’ and the terms of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949. The role of the House of Lords in respect of finance is ‘to agree, and not to initiate or amend’.

Taxes and duties set out in the Budget are known as a ‘charge upon the people’. Income and corporation tax provisions must be renewed annually in the Budget to maintain parliamentary control over these core revenue streams; but other taxes or duties may be introduced or increased, via the Budget, for a defined period or permanently. The Budget seeks to reconcile spending plans with projected income: the level of revenue requested by the government through taxation should only be that necessary to cover its expenditure (supply) plans.

The government’s taxation plans as set out in the Budget require statutory (that is, legislative) authority. The subsequent Finance Bill provides this.

These are Bills the primary purpose of which is to levy taxes or authorise expenditure. As it is such a Bill, the Finance Bill must:

  • originate in the House of Commons;

  • be based on ‘founding’ Ways and Means resolutions; and

  • adopt particular terminology in both the passage of the Bill and the signification of Royal Assent.

Historically it has been a convention that governments regard the votes at the end of the Budget debate as a matter of confidence. Given the fundamental importance of the Budget, if a vote was lost, it would likely be considered a resigning matter for a government. This would generally have led to a dissolution of Parliament and a general election. However, this was no longer the case after the passing of the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011. This Act was subsequently repealed and replaced by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022.

Whether the previous convention has been fully restored by this new Act has not yet been tested, although comments by Ministers during the parliamentary debate on the legislation suggest this was their intention.

Regardless, MPs – particularly government backbenchers – who vote against their party on the Budget are likely to lose the Whip.

08:06 am, 14 March 2023

Hansard Society (2022), How does Parliament authorise the Government's taxation plans? A procedural guide to the Budget process, (Hansard Society: London)

News / Parliament Matters Bulletin: What’s coming up in Parliament this week? 15-19 September 2025

Peers will vote on the assisted dying bill’s Second Reading, while MPs will question the new Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood MP and Lord Chancellor David Lammy MP. The Commons will debate the Employment Rights, English Devolution and Community Empowerment, and Sentencing Bills, as Peers examine the Planning and Infrastructure and Children’s Wellbeing and Schools Bills. Committees will hear evidence on arms exports to Israel and the Online Safety Act. MPs will also debate an e-petition on SEND support and consider a Ten Minute Rule Bill on child poverty strategy, including removing the two-child limit for Universal Credit. The youngest minister in nearly two centuries will make his first appearance before a Select Committee. ❓ We value your thoughts. Please click here to let us know what you think of the Parliament Matters Bulletin in our reader survey.

14 Sep 2025
Read more

News / Assisted dying bill - special series #16: The Bill makes its debut in the House of Lords - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 106

As Peers embark on a marathon two-day Second Reading debate on the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill – the measure that would legalise assisted dying in England and Wales – we are joined by former Clerk of the Parliaments, Sir David Beamish, to decode the drama. With more than two hundred members of the House of Lords lining up to speak, Sir David explains why, despite the intensity of the arguments, no one expects the Bill to be rejected at this stage. Instead, the real fight will come later, after Peers get into the clause-by-clause detail and see what defects can be remedied. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

13 Sep 2025
Read more

Briefings / The assisted dying bill: A guide to the legislative process in the House of Lords

Having passed through the House of Commons, the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill - the Bill to legalise assisted dying in England and Wales - must now go through its legislative stages in the House of Lords. This guide explains the special procedures for legislation in the House of Lords, and for Private Members’ Bills in particular. It answers some frequently asked questions, including how Peers might block the Bill, and gives an explanation of each stage of the process, from Second to Third Reading.

10 Sep 2025
Read more

Briefings / Delegated powers in the assisted dying bill: Issues for the attention of the House of Lords

Like many pieces of primary legislation, the assisted dying bill leaves much of the practical and policy detail to be worked out later by Ministers through regulations. After the Bill’s Second Reading in the House of Commons, we published a briefing which drew attention to two of its delegated powers. But since then the Bill has been heavily amended, prompting new questions: how have its delegated powers evolved, do these changes strengthen or weaken the approach to the delegation of ministerial power, and are further amendments needed and if so, why?

29 Aug 2025
Read more

News / Is Parliament at the root of the country's problems? - Parliament Matters podcast, Episode 105

Does Parliament itself lie at the root of some of Britain’s political and economic difficulties? Lord Goodman argues that it does and so makes the case for urgent parliamentary reform. This week we also examine the implications of a Downing Street reshuffle that has created a “Chief Secretary to the Prime Minister,” raising new questions about accountability in the Commons. The discussion ranges from Angela Rayner’s uncertain position, Nigel Farage’s controversial US appearance, and the Greens’ leadership contest, to the growing use of artificial intelligence in parliamentary work. Please help us by completing our Listener Survey. It will only take a few minutes.

05 Sep 2025
Read more