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More than 5000 entries on the history, culture and life of Britain (published in 1993 by Macmillan, now out of print)
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Chancellor of the Exchequer
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The minister with responsibility for the nation's finances, though technically only no. 2 in the *Treasury. The name dates back to the 12C, when the king's treasurer and his advisers met round a table with a chequered cloth; the squares were a form of abacus, enabling relatively rapid financial calculations to be made on the spot.
In recent decades the chancellor has made an autumn statement, announcing the results of the *public spending round, and has followed this with his *budget in the spring.
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