Editing Harold Macmillan (section)

====Budget====
Macmillan was appointed [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]] in December 1955.<ref>Edmund Dell, ''The Chancellors: A History of the Chancellors of the Exchequer, 1945–90'' (1997) pp. 207–222, covers his term as Chancellor.</ref> He had enjoyed his eight months as Foreign Secretary and did not wish to move. He insisted on being "undisputed head of the home front" and that Eden's de facto deputy [[Rab Butler]], whom he was replacing as Chancellor, not have the title "Deputy Prime Minister" and not be treated as senior to him. He even tried (in vain) to demand that Salisbury, not Butler, should preside over the Cabinet in Eden's absence. Macmillan later claimed in his memoirs that he had still expected Butler, his junior by eight years, to succeed Eden, but correspondence with [[Lord Woolton]] at the time makes clear that Macmillan was very much thinking of the succession. As early as January 1956 he told Eden's press secretary [[William D. Clark]] that it would be "interesting to see how long Anthony can stay in the saddle".{{sfn|Campbell|2010|pp=261–262, 264}}

Macmillan planned to reverse the 6d cut in income tax which Butler had made a year previously, but backed off after a "frank talk" with Butler, who threatened resignation, on 28 March 1956. He settled for spending cuts instead, and himself threatened resignation until he was allowed to cut bread and milk subsidies, something the Cabinet had not permitted Butler to do.{{sfn|Campbell|2010|pp=264–265}}

One of his innovations at the [[HM Treasury|Treasury]] was the introduction of [[premium bonds]],<ref>[http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/18/newsid_4762000/4762748.stm 18 April 1956: Macmillan unveils premium bond scheme] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170106130300/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/18/newsid_4762000/4762748.stm |date=6 January 2017}}, [[BBC News]], 'On This Day 1950–2005'.</ref> announced in his budget of 17 April 1956.{{sfn|Horne|2008|p=383}} Although the Labour Opposition initially decried them as a 'squalid raffle', they proved an immediate hit with the public, with £1,000 won in the first prize draw in June 1957.

A young [[John Major]] attended the presentation of the budget, and attributes his political ambitions to this event.<ref>{{cite book |author=John Major |title=John Major: The Autobiography |publisher=HarperCollins |year=1999 |page=26}}</ref>