As a member of Cambridge University Conservative Association, Peter Temple Morris a future Conservative MP, recalls that the first time Harold Macmillan used his famous quote events, dear boy, events was in response to a question Budgen had asked in a small group discussion ("Across the Floor: A life in dissenting politics", page 36, published 2015 - Peter Temple Morris).
His speeches in November 1985 against the Anglo-Irish Agreement persuaded his cousin Ian Gow to resign as a minister from Margaret Thatcher's government.
According to Michael Brown, who was at the time a government whip, Nick Budgen was the only critic of the March 1988 Budget, which contained many "giveaways" and led to high inflation and the 1990 recession.
He was also opposed to immigration to the UK and on 10 October 1989, at the Conservative Party Conference, he, with Tim Janman MP, and Jonathan Guinness (in the chair), addressed a controversial fringe meeting organized by the Young Monday Club, advertised as The End of the English?
[4] Conversely, Labour MP and one-time Minister for Europe Denis MacShane described Budgen as a "filthy little racist" in his diaries.
[6] To this end, he helped lead a hardcore of approximately 50 right-wing Conservative Party MPs to influence government policy on Northern Ireland and Europe among other things.
His hard line on the Northern Ireland situation was perhaps stiffened by the IRA murder of his cousin Ian Gow MP, who bled to death in his wife's arms in 1990.
Budgen was also a leading member of the Treasury Select Committee, who questioned every tax rise and attacked Kenneth Clarke as being "intellectually dishonest".
The Dunblane bill created a situation where small calibre pistols were illegal in the UK (apart from a 3-week period in 2002 for the Commonwealth Games being held in Manchester, with British teams being forced to practise in France).
Budgen had in fact suggested to the seatless former Conservative Government minister Alan Clark that he should stand for the Referendum Party.
He had said that the Conservatives "in the West Midlands will be running on alternative manifesto", presumably meaning with other local Maastricht Rebels, Christopher Gill (Ludlow) and Richard Shepherd (Aldridge & Brownhills).
He seemed to take great joy in continuing Wolverhampton South West's feud (begun by Enoch Powell) with Edward Heath, heckling him at any opportunity.
"[11] Former Labour MP Ken Livingstone once "said admiringly" to Nick Budgen in 1996: "you've made Major change his policy on Europe, again and again.".