1993 in the United Kingdom

1993 in the United Kingdom
Other years
1991 | 1992 | 1993 (1993) | 1994 | 1995
Constituent countries of the United Kingdom
England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales
Popular culture

Events from the year 1993 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

Events

January
  • 1 January
  • 5 January – Oil tanker MV Braer runs aground on the South Mainland of Shetland, spilling 84,700 tonnes of crude oil into the sea.[2]
  • 6 January – The first episode of the children's series The Animals of Farthing Wood begins on BBC One.
  • 8 January – Ford unveils its new Mondeo, a range of large hatchbacks, saloons and estates which will reach showrooms on 22 March as replacement for the long-running Sierra.
  • 10 January
    • British newspapers carry reports that The Princess of Wales wants a divorce from The Prince of Wales, despite the announcement of their separation (issued the previous month) stating that there were no plans for a divorce.
    • Braer Storm at peak intensity across the British Isles, breaking up the wrecked tanker Braer.
  • 11 January – British Airways admits liability and apologises "unreservedly" for a "dirty tricks" campaign against Virgin Atlantic.[3]
  • 13 January – Wayne Edwards, a 26-year-old Lance Corporal, becomes the first British fatality in the conflict in Bosnia, former Yugoslavia.[4]
  • 17 January – Bookmakers cut their odds on the monarchy being abolished by the year 2000 from 100 to 1 to 50 to 1.
  • 21 January – Unemployment has increased for the 31st month running, but is still just short of the 3,000,000 total that was last seen nearly six years ago. Economists warn that it could hit a new high of more than 3,500,000 by the end of this year. However, the Conservatives have still managed to cut Labour's lead in the opinion polls from 13 points to eight points, according to the latest MORI poll.[5]
  • 26 January – The Bank of England lowers interest rates to 6% – the lowest since 1978.

February
  • 1 February – Economists warn that unemployment could reach a new high of 3,400,000 this year.
  • 12 February – Murder of James Bulger: a 2-year-old is murdered by two ten-year-old boys on Merseyside.
  • 14 February – Unemployment is reported to be rising faster in Conservative seats than in Labour ones.
  • 15 February – The number of unfit homes in Britain is reported to have increased from 900,000 to more than 1,300,000 between 1986 and 1991.
  • 17 February – Shadow Chancellor Gordon Brown claims that a Labour government could reduce taxation – a dramatic turn for a party known for high taxation.
  • 18 February – Unemployment has reached 3,000,000 (and a rate of 10.6%) for the first time in six years.
  • 19 February – Judith Chaplin, Conservative MP for Newbury in Berkshire, dies suddenly at the age of 53 after less than a year in parliament.
  • 20 February – Economists are now warning that unemployment could rise as high at 3,500,000 within the next year.
  • 25 February – A MORI poll shows that 80% of Britons are dissatisfied with the way that John Major is running the country, and nearly 50% believe that the economy will get worse during this year.
  • 25–26 February – Warrington bomb attacks: Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) bombs are planted and explode at gas holders in Warrington, Cheshire.

March
  • 16 March – Chancellor Norman Lamont unveils a budget plan which is centred on economic recovery, together with phased introduction of Value Added Tax on domestic fuel bills (8% for 1994). This will be the last Spring budget.
  • 19 March – Unemployment has fallen for the first time since May 1990, now standing at 2,970,000, sparking hopes that the recession is nearly over.
  • 20 March – Warrington bomb attacks: IRA bombs in the town centre of Warrington claim the life of 3-year-old Jonathan Ball and injure more than 50 other people. On 25 March the blasts claim a second fatality when 12-year-old Timothy Parry dies in hospital from his injuries.[6]
  • 25 March – Ford Mondeo goes on sale.[7]

April

May
  • 2 May - Manchester United become the first champions of the new FA Premier League after their last remaining title contenders, Aston Villa, lose 1–0 at home to Oldham Athletic. It is the first time in 26 years that Manchester United have been champions of the top division of English football.[13]
  • 7 May
    • The Conservatives lose a 12,357 majority in the Newbury by-election, with the Liberal Democrats gaining the seat by 22,055 votes under new MP David Rendel. The Conservative majority now stands at 19 seats.
    • Grimethorpe Colliery in South Yorkshire is closed.
  • 13 May – Robert Adley, Conservative MP for Christchurch in Dorset, dies from a heart attack aged 58.
  • 14 May – The economic recovery continues as business failures are reported to have fallen for the second quarter running.
  • 20 May – The latest MORI poll shows that the Conservative government has yet to benefit from bringing the economy out of recession, as they trail Labour (who have 44% of the vote) by 16 points.[5]
  • 22 May – Inflation reaches a 29-year low of 1.3%.
  • 27 May – Kenneth Clarke succeeds Norman Lamont as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

June
  • Sunday newspaper The Observer is acquired by Guardian Media Group.
  • 3–5 June – Hollbeck Hall Hotel in Scarborough collapses into the sea following a landslide.[14]
  • 17 June – Unemployment now stands at less than 2,900,000 after the fourth successive monthly fall.
  • 20 June – A high speed train makes the first journey from France to England via the Channel Tunnel, which will open to the public next year.
  • 21 June – Andrew Wiles announces a proof to Fermat's Last Theorem at the Isaac Newton Institute. The proof is slightly flawed, but Wiles announces a revised proof the following year.
  • 24 June
    • Northern Ireland Minister Michael Mates resigns over links with fugitive tycoon Asil Nadir.[15]
    • Despite the recent end of the recession, support for the Conservative government has failed to recover, with the latest MORI poll showing that Labour has an 18-point lead over them with 46% of the vote.[16]
  • 30 June – Michael Hunt, former deputy chairman of Nissan UK, is jailed for eight years for his involvement in Britain's worst case of tax fraud.

July

August
  • 4 August – Labour Party leader John Smith opens Millwall F.C.'s New Den stadium in Bermondsey, London, which cost £16million to build and is the largest new football stadium to be built in England since before World War II.[20]
  • 11 August – The Department of Health reveals that the number of people on hospital waiting lists has reached 1,000,000 for the first time.

September
  • 3 September – The UK Independence Party, which supports breakaway from the European Union, is formed by members of the Anti-Federalist League, which itself was formed two years earlier by opponents of Britain's involvement in the Maastricht Treaty.[21]
  • 16 September – Unemployment has risen for the second month running, now standing at 2,922,100 (10.4% of the workforce), sparking fears that the economic recovery could be stalling and the economy could soon slide back into recession just months after coming out of it.
  • 17 September – The British National Party wins its first council seat, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets.[22]
  • 19 September – Production of the Ford Orion compact saloon ends.
  • 30 September – The Queen approves an honorary knighthood for General Colin Powell, who retired yesterday as chief of American armed forces.

October
  • 1 October – QVC launches the first television shopping channel in the UK.
  • 8 October – John Major launches his Back to Basics campaign.[23]
  • 16 October – Demonstration against the British National Party in Welling, where it has its headquarters.
  • Unemployment falls this month by 49,000 – the biggest monthly fall since April 1989 – as the economic recovery continues.[24]

November

December

Undated
  • Completion of Thames Water Ring Main beneath London (80 km).[33]
  • New car sales enjoy an increase this year for the first time since 1989. The Ford Escort is Britain's best selling car for the second year running, while the new Ford Mondeo and Vauxhall Corsa enjoy strong sales in their first year on the British market.
  • With the economy growing for the first time since spring 1990, inflation is at a 33-year low of 1.6%.[34]

Publications

Births

Deaths

See also

References
  1. "Teletext". The Teletext Museum. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
  2. "Oil tanker runs aground off Shetland". BBC News. 5 January 1993. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  3. "BA dirty tricks against Virgin cost £3m". BBC News. 11 January 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  4. "Operations in the Balkans: British Fatalities". Ministry of Defence. 10 June 2006. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  5. "Poll tracker: Interactive guide to the opinion polls". Election 2010. BBC. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  6. "Child killed in Warrington bomb attack". BBC News. 20 March 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  7. "Mk1 Ford Mondeo review". Motoring Research. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  8. "Grand National ends in 'shambles'". BBC News. 3 April 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  9. "The Royal Logistic Corps and Forming Corps". The Royal Logistic Corps Museum. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  10. "IRA bomb devastates City of London". BBC News. 24 April 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  11. "Recession over – it's official". BBC News. 26 April 1993. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  12. "Queen to open Palace doors". BBC News. 29 April 1993. Archived from the original on 21 January 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  13. "Man Utd: The man who told Alex Ferguson his side were champions". BBC News. 2 May 2013.
  14. "In pictures: Holbeck Hall landslip". BBC News. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  15. "Minister resigns over business links". BBC News. 24 June 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  16. "Voting Intention in Great Britain: 1976–present". Ipsos MORI. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  17. "UNISON Family Tree" (PDF). unionancestors.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  18. "16 July 1993: Secret Service goes public". On This Day. BBC. 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  19. "How the Government's Majority Disappeared". Politics 97. BBC. 1997. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  20. "Millwall History". Millwall Football Club. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  21. "About Us". UK Independence Party. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  22. "Shock as racist wins council seat". BBC News. 17 September 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  23. Wintour, Patrick (9 October 1993). "Major goes back to the old values". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 September 2007.
  24. Announced 18 November.
  25. Smyth, Rob (15 February 2012). "The forgotten story of … 17 November 1993". The Guardian. London.
  26. "Soccer fans jailed after rocket killed pensioner". The Independent. London. 27 May 1994.
  27. Boggan, Steve (19 November 1993). "The M40 Crash: Day trip to disaster for 11 young musicians". The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  28. Boggan, Steve (20 November 1993). "13th pupil dies but crash cause still unknown". The Independent. London. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  29. "Do I Not Like That". FrontlineFootball. 1994. Archived from the original on 9 June 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  30. Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
  31. "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1993". Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  32. "Anglo-Irish pact paves way for peace". BBC News. 15 December 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  33. Institution of Civil Engineers (1994). "Thames Water Ring Main". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. London: Thomas Telford. 102 (special issue 2). ISBN 0-7277-2003-1.
  34. "Inflation: the Value of the Pound 1750-1998" (PDF). 19 February 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2006.
  35. "The Girls". Ascot Racecourse. Retrieved 14 July 2017.
  36. Airedale NHS Trust v Bland [1993] 1 All ER 821 HL.
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