1986 in the United Kingdom

Events from the year 1986 in the United Kingdom. It is particularly noted for the "Big Bang" deregulation of the financial markets.

1986 in the United Kingdom
Other years
1984 | 1985 | 1986 (1986) | 1987 | 1988
Constituent countries of the United Kingdom
England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales
Popular culture

Incumbents

Events

January
  • January – The Vauxhall Belmont compact saloon goes on sale, giving buyers a traditional saloon alternative to the Astra hatchback and estate models. The car would remain in production until September 1991.
  • 7 January – The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders announces that a record of more than 1.8 million new cars were sold in Britain during 1985, beating the previous record set in 1983. The Ford Escort was Britain's most popular new car, and all of the top 10 best-selling new cars were produced by Ford, Vauxhall or Austin Rover. Continental and Japanese manufacturers enjoyed a good-sized percentage of the new car market though, with Fiat, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, Volkswagen and Volvo all doing well.[1]
  • 9 January
  • 12 January – The game show Catchphrase begins on ITV hosted by Roy Walker along with the computer generated character Mr. Chips. It concludes in 2002, but is revived in 2013.
  • 14 January – The Salafi jihadist group al-Muhajiroun begins to operate in the UK.
  • 20 January – The United Kingdom and France announce plans to construct the Channel Tunnel, which they hope to open by the early-1990s.
  • 24 January – Leon Brittan resigns as Trade and Industry Secretary over the Westland affair.[3]
  • 31 January – Unemployment for this month has increased to 3,204,900 – a postwar high which accounts for 14.4% of the workforce.

February

March

April

May
  • May – The last Talbot badged passenger cars are built in Britain and France by Peugeot, who will continue making their own cars at the former Rootes Group plant near Coventry and the former Simca production facilities in France. Peugeot is to continue the Talbot brand for commercial vehicles, and production of the Horizon range will continue in Spain and Finland until next year.
  • 5 May – Liverpool win the Football League First Division title for a record 16th time after winning 1–0 at Chelsea. Kenny Dalglish, in his first season as the club's player-manager, scores the goal which gives Liverpool the title.
  • 8 May – Labour makes large gains in local council elections, collecting 37% of the votes nationally compared to the Conservatives on 34% and the Alliance on 26%. These are the first national elections to be held since the recent abolition of the metropolitan councils.
  • 10 May – The first all-Merseyside FA Cup final ends in a 3–1 win for Liverpool over Everton, who become only the third team this century to win the double, having already secured the Football League First Division title.[16]
  • 20 May – The Marriage (Prohibited Degrees of Relationship) Act revises the prohibited degree of kinship for marriage.
  • 21 May – The Harrison Birtwistle opera The Mask of Orpheus premiers in London.[17][18]

June

July
  • July – Nissan begins production of the Bluebird at its landmark factory near Sunderland.
  • 1 July – Gary Lineker becomes the most expensive British footballer ever in a £2.75 million move from Everton to FC Barcelona.[25]
  • 2 July – 24 hours after Gary Lineker's transfer, Ian Rush sets a new transfer record for a British footballer when he agrees a £3.2 million move from Liverpool to Juventus of Italy, but is loaned back to Liverpool for a season and will not play his first game for Juventus until at least August 1987.[26]
  • 4 July – A policeman is cleared of the manslaughter of five-year-old John Shorthouse, who was killed in an armed raid on a house in Birmingham in August last year.
  • 10 July – Austin Rover launches its new Honda-based Rover 800 executive car, which replaces the decade-old Rover SD1 and is part of a joint venture with Japanese carmaker Honda. The car will also be sold in the United States under the Sterling marque. The Honda version will be badged as the Honda Legend.[27]
  • 12 July – Rioting breaks out at Portadown in Northern Ireland between Protestants and Catholics.[28]
  • 17 July – It is announced that unemployment rose to 3,220,400 in June. It has now exceeded 3 million for nearly five years.
  • 21 July – A report finds that 20% of British children are now born out of wedlock.
  • 23 July – Prince Andrew, Duke of York, marries Sarah Ferguson at Westminster Abbey in London.[29]
  • 24 July – 2 August – The Commonwealth Games are held in Edinburgh.
  • 28 July – Estate agent Suzy Lamplugh vanishes after a meeting in London. She was declared legally dead in 1994, but as of 2020, her body has still not been found and the case remains unsolved to the present day.[30]
  • 30 July – A MORI poll shows that Labour are now nine points ahead of the Conservatives with 41% of the vote, with Liberal/SDP Alliance support now at 25%.[31]

August
  • 8 August – Rival gangs of Manchester United and West Ham United fans clash on a Sealink ferry bound for Amsterdam where the two clubs are playing pre-season friendlies. The UEFA ban on English clubs in European competitions is continuing for a second season, and there are now fears that English clubs may not even be able to play friendlies overseas.
  • 13 August – The Eurotunnel Group is formed to operate the Channel Tunnel.[4]
  • 15 August – The latest MORI poll shows that the Conservatives have eliminated Labour's nine-point lead and drawn level with them by gaining 37% in the latest opinion poll, in the space of just over two weeks.[31]
  • 16 August – Figures released by the government reveal that a record of nearly 3,100,000 people claimed Unemployment Benefit last month, although the official total of unemployed people in Britain is still short of the record of nearly 3,300,000 which was set two years ago.[32]
  • 19 August – The privatisation of the National Bus Company begins with the first sale of a bus operating subsidiary, Devon General, in a management buyout.
  • 22 August – John Stalker, deputy chief constable of Greater Manchester police, is cleared of misconduct over allegations of associating with criminals.[33]
  • 25 August – Economists warn that a global recession is imminent, barely five years after the previous recession.
  • 29 August
    • Britain's oldest twins, May and Marjorie Chavasse, celebrate their one-hundredth birthday.[34]
    • Highest national average 24-hour total rainfall until 2020.[35]
  • c. August – The one-millionth council house in the United Kingdom is sold to its tenants in Scotland, seven years after the Right To Buy scheme was launched.[36]

September
  • September – GCSE examination courses replace both GCE 'O' Level and CSE courses for 14-year-olds.[37]
  • 6 September – First episode of medical drama serial Casualty airs on BBC One. It will still be running on television more than thirty years later.
  • 8 September – Margaret Thatcher officially opens the first phase of the Nissan car factory at Sunderland, which has been in use for two months. It is the first car factory to be built in Europe by a Japanese carmaker.[38]
  • 14 September – Fears of another recession in Britain are eased by economists at Liverpool University predicting 3.1% economic growth next year.
  • 18 September – It is announced that unemployment rose to 3,280,106 in July.
  • 19 September – A man is killed in the Colwich rail crash.
  • 24 September – The flotation of the Trustee Savings Banks attracts a record of more than 4 million applications for shares.

October

November

December
  • December – The first case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy is diagnosed in British cattle.
  • 1 December – The government launches an inquiry into financial irregularities at Guinness.[48]
  • 3 December – 4 million people apply for shares in British Gas in anticipation of flotation next week.
  • 4 December – 20-year-old roofer Russell Bishop is charged with the "Babes in the Wood" murders in Brighton two months ago but will not be convicted until a second trial in 2018.[40]
  • 8 December – British Gas shares are floated on the Stock Exchange. The initial public offering of 135p per share values the company at £9 billion, the highest equity offering ever at this time.[49]
  • 17 December – The world's first heart, lung and liver transplant is carried out at Papworth Hospital in Cambridgeshire.[39]
  • 18 December – It is announced that unemployment fell to a four-year low of less than 3,100,000 in November.[50] On 15 January 1987 it is announced that unemployment has fallen in December 1986 for the fifth month in succession.
  • 22 December – David Penhaligon, a leading Liberal Party MP, dies in a car crash near Truro in Cornwall at the age of 42.[51]
  • 25 December – The highest audience of all time for a British television drama is attracted by the Christmas Day episode of EastEnders, the BBC 1 soap opera, in which Den Watts (Leslie Grantham) serves the divorce papers on his wife Angie (Anita Dobson) after discovering that she had feigned a terminal illness to try to stop him from leaving her in an episode aired in October this year. More than 30 million viewers tune in for the episode of the TV series which first went on air in February 1985.[52]
  • 29 December – Harold Macmillan, Earl of Stockton and former Prime Minister, dies at the age of 92 at his home, Birch Grove in East Sussex.

Undated

Publications

Births

Deaths

See also

References
  2. "1986: Heseltine quits over Westland". BBC News. 9 January 1986. Archived from the original on 30 December 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  3. "1986: Leon Brittan quits over Westland". BBC News. 24 January 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  4. "Our history". Eurotunnel. Archived from the original on 3 January 2010. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  5. Palmer, Alan; Veronica (1992). The Chronology of British History. London: Century Ltd. pp. 452–453. ISBN 0-7126-5616-2.
  6. "1986: Printers and police clash in Wapping". BBC News. 15 February 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  7. "Sun Headlines". Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  8. "1986: Greater London Council abolished". BBC News. 31 March 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  9. "History – The Hanson years". Imperial Tobacco. 2010. Archived from the original on 2 September 2010. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  10. Tedmanson, Sophie (3 November 2004). "Lord Hanson". The Times. London. Retrieved 23 September 2010.
  11. Green, Oliver (1988). The London Underground – An Illustrated History. Ian Allan. p. 63. ISBN 0-7110-1720-4.
  12. "1986: Sinclair sells computer business". BBC News. 7 April 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  13. "metrocentre". Retrieved 15 March 2013.
  14. "1986: Simple funeral rites for Duchess". BBC News. 29 April 1986. Archived from the original on 30 December 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  15. "Jail action called off after riots", Express & Star, Wolverhampton, 1 May 1986, retrieved 15 March 2013
  16. "FA Cup Final 1986". Archived from the original on 1 June 2009. Retrieved 30 May 2009.
  17. The Hutchinson Factfinder. Helicon. 1999. ISBN 1-85986-000-1.
  18. "The Mask of Orpheus". What's on Stage. Archived from the original on 15 June 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2010.
  19. "1986: Magee convicted of Brighton bombing". BBC News. 10 June 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  20. "1986: Labour expels Militant Hatton". BBC News. 12 June 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  21. "1986: Ian Paisley's battle cry condemned". BBC News. 24 June 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  22. "1986: Branson on course for Blue Riband", BBC News". 26 June 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  23. "1986: Branson beats Atlantic speed record". BBC News. 29 June 1986. Archived from the original on 4 January 2008. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  24. "1986". Express & Star. Wolverhampton. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  25. TV and Radio (12 June 2002). "A career of two-halves". The Telegraph. London. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  26. "Ian Rush | Football Stats | No Club | Age 51 | 1979–1999". Soccer Base. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  27. "Maggie's Pat on Head for Rover". Evening Times. Glasgow. 10 July 1986. p. 15. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  28. "1986: Orange Parade sparks riots". BBC News. 12 July 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  29. "1986: Prince Andrew weds Sarah Ferguson". BBC News. 23 July 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  30. "1986: Parents appeal for missing agent". BBC News. 30 July 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  31. "Poll tracker: Interactive guide to the opinion polls". BBC News. 1 January 1970. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  32. Ashley Seager (16 August 2006). "20 years ago the dole queue hit 3 million – today it is the workforce that's a record | Business". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  33. "1986: Police chief cleared of misconduct". BBC News. 22 August 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  34. "1986: UK's oldest twins turn 100". BBC News. 29 August 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  35. McGrath, Matt (16 October 2020). "Extreme weather: October downpour sees UK's wettest day on record". BBC News. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  36. Thatcher, Margaret (10 October 1986). "Speech to Conservative Party Conference". Margaret Thatcher Foundation. Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  37. "1984: O-Levels to be replaced by GCSEs". BBC News. 20 June 1984. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 29 January 2008.
  38. "Nissan Sunderland". Qashqai Club. Archived from the original on 11 May 2012. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  39. Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
  40. "Russell Bishop: Paedophile guilty of 1986 Babes in Wood murders". BBC News. 10 December 2018. Retrieved 11 December 2018.
  41. "Metro Centre". Thechaiseguesthouse.com. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  42. "1986: UK cuts links with Syria over bomb plot". BBC News. 24 October 1986. Archived from the original on 26 October 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  43. "1986: Archer quits over prostitute allegations". BBC News. 26 October 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  44. Leadbeater, Chris (18 March 2015). "Neighbours 30th anniversary - on the trail of the soap in Melbourne". Telegraph. London. Retrieved 9 October 2019.
  45. "1986: 'Evil' Bamber jailed for family murders". BBC News. 28 October 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  46. "The M25: We're on the road to nowhere – Features – Motoring". The Independent. London. 17 October 2006. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  47. "1986: Police renew hunt for Moors victims". BBC News. 20 November 1986. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  48. "1986: Surprise inquiry into Guinness affairs". BBC News. 1 December 1986. Archived from the original on 4 December 2007. Retrieved 28 November 2007.
  49. Marr, Andrew (2007). A History of Modern Britain. London: Macmillan. p. 431. ISBN 978-1-4050-0538-8.
  51. Polsson, Ken. "This Day in History – 22 December". Retrieved 26 February 2013.
  52. Lawson, Mark (15 June 2018). "Dirty Den: how the EastEnders bad boy became the biggest soap star of them all". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2020.
  53. Twigger, Robert (23 February 1999). "Inflation: the Value of the Pound 1750–1998" (PDF). Research Paper 99/20. House of Commons Library. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2006. Retrieved 8 January 2016.
  54. Stokes, Paul (13 July 2005). "The teenager". The Daily Telegraph. London.
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