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==Background==
The budget was to be the first presented by a Labour Government since April 1979.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/uk/1999/mar/03/budget1999.budget21|title=Bygone budgets: April 1979|date=3 March 1999|website=The Guardian|accessdate=19 November 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/755926011ffb421fa5e452b47030d6bb |title=Budget – BBC One – 2 July 1997 |publisher=BBC |work=BBC Genome |access-date=29 November 2022}}</ref> [[Gordon Brown]] announced plans to hold a budget on 10 June 1997 following Labour's victory in that year's general election, but was forced to revise that date after [[BT Group|British Telecom]] threatened legal action over his plans to announce a windfall tax on privatised utility companies.<ref name="auto">{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/brown-is-stalled-by-tax-row-1263342.html|title=Brown is stalled by tax row|date=24 May 1997|website=The Independent|accessdate=24 November 2022}}</ref> The budget was eventually held on 2 July.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1997/07/03/world/blair-gains-tax-cut-for-business-but-the-rest-of-britain-must-wait.html|title=Blair Gains Tax Cut for Business, But the Rest of Britain Must Wait|first=Youssef M.|last=Ibrahim|date=3 July 1997|accessdate=24 November 2022|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://api.parliament.uk/historic-hansard/commons/1997/jul/02/budget-statement|title=Budget Statement (Hansard, 2 July 1997)|website=api.parliament.uk|accessdate=24 November 2022}}</ref> Before then and following consultation with the [[National Audit Office (United Kingdom)|National Audit Office]], on 18 June, Brown announced a change in the assumption the [[HM Treasury|Treasury]] used to calculate its economic forecasts, creating a more negative outlook for the [[Economy of the United Kingdom|UK economy]] than had been forecast by his predecessor, [[Kenneth Clarke]] in [[1996 United Kingdom budget|his final budget]] of November 1996. Chiefly, under the new calculation, the [[public sector borrowing requirement]] appeared to be £0.5bn higher for 1997{{efn|about £{{inflation|UK|0.5|1997|2021}}bn at 2021 prices}}, and £3.25bn{{efn|about £{{inflation|UK|3.25|1997|2021}}bn at 2021 prices}} higher for 1998, than Clarke had estimated.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/revised-figures-pave-way-for-tough-budget-1256902.html|title=Revised figures pave way for tough Budget|date=19 June 1997|website=The Independent|accessdate=24 November 2022}}</ref>
One of Brown's first acts as Chancellor was to grant the [[Bank of England]] the freedom to set the UK's interest rate, a decision that had previously been the responsibility of the Chancellor.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/politics/1997/may/07/economy.uk|title=Brown gives Bank independence to set interest rates|date=7 May 1997|website=the Guardian|accessdate=24 November 2022}}</ref> Breaking with tradition, Brown also commissioned a new [[budget box]] which was made by four young apprentices from his [[Dunfermline (UK Parliament constituency)|Dunfermline]] constituency, who he then invited to join him on [[Budget Day]] at [[11 Downing Street]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/history/11-downing-street|title=History of 11 Downing Street – GOV.UK|website=www.gov.uk|accessdate=24 November 2022}}</ref> Another break with tradition saw the budget held on a Wednesday, a day that had started to become an important one for Parliamentary business, with [[Prime Minister's Questions]] having also moved to a Wednesday following Labour's election.<ref name="auto"/>
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