100 years of Labour Budgets. Will Rachel Reeves revive the ‘Free Breakfast Table’ of 1924
The first Labour Government which took office on 22nd January 1924 was not in Government long enough to achieve much of significance, even if it had intended to, which is not evident from the historical record.
One achievement however was the promotion of the Free Breakfast Table. This didn’t mean free breakfasts but rather the reduction of taxes on items that were thought to be essential parts of it and in particular the working class breakfast.
In his Budget in late April 1924 Labour Chancellor Philip Snowden cut taxes.
Sugar duty was cut, taxes on tea were halved and there were also cuts in the cost of coffee, chicory, cocoa and dried fruits (mainly prunes).
The demand for a free breakfast table had originated with the Liberals in the 1860s and became an important part of their programme. Snowden was a member of the Independent Labour Party but had been bought up with Liberal politics in Halifax and, like Rachel Reeves, was an orthodox Treasury Chancellor.
The Free Breakfast Table was a nod to what Snowden termed the Housewives Budget. He was clearly rather better at comms than the present Government as published a pamphlet to underline the focus of his Budget (which otherwise did very little)
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