First Tory Budget Since 1996: Here’s What Was Going On In Britain At The Time

Today marks the first Tory-only budget since Ken Clarke unveiled his plans in 1996.

George Osborne has delivered budgets before of course - but they were written with his Coalition partners, the Lib Dems.

After the Conservatives managed to secure an overall majority in May’s General Election, today marks the first time the budget is strictly Tory in nearly two decades.

But what was the country like in 1996 when the Tories ushered in their final budget of the century?

Britpop was at its peak, no one had heard of Smartphones and Tony Blair was still just the leader of the opposition.

And the biggest pop stars were a pair of actors from ITV drama, Soldier, Soldier. (You might need to look it up).

Here are ten facts to take you back to 1996:

* At the time of Ken Clarke’s last Tory-only Budget in November of that year, Prince Harry was just 12 and Prince William, 14. Their parents, Prince Charles and Diana, had divorced three months earlier on August 28.

* The Prodigy were top of the singles chart with Breathe - their second and last number one hit.

* Take Two, the second album by pop duo Robson & Jerome, reached the number one spot in the album charts.

* A first class stamp was 26p. Today it costs 63p.

* The BBC picked up the terrestrial rights to The Simpsons, airing the American cartoon series for the first time on 23 November.

* It was an eventful year for Wimbledon. Sir Cliff Richard entertained the Centre Court crowd during a long rain delay on men’s quarter-final day, leading a sing-along for the crowd. The men’s single final, between Richard Krajicek of the Netherlands and MaliVai Washington of the US, was also disrupted by a female streaker.

* American blockbuster Independence Day drew huge audiences to UK cinemas, after being released in August 1996.

* Alex Ferguson picked up his second title with Manchester United, winning the Premier League in the 1995-1996 season.

* Chris Evans’s TFI Friday was first launched in February 1996.

* Take That fans were still recovering from the band’s split, after Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Mark Owen and Jason Orange parted ways in February 1996. Robbie Williams had left the band in 1995.