1993 in the United Kingdom

1993 in the United Kingdom:

Other years

1991 | 1992 | 1993 (1993) | 1994 | 1995

Individual countries of the United Kingdom

England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales

Sport, Television and music

1993 British Grand Prix 1993 English cricket season Football: England | Scotland 1993 in British television 1993 in British music 1993 in British radio UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1993

Events from the year 1993 in the United Kingdom.

Contents 1 Incumbents 2 Events 2.1 January 2.2 February 2.3 March 2.4 April 2.5 May 2.6 June 2.7 July 2.8 August 2.9 September 2.10 October 2.11 November 2.12 December 2.13 Undated 3 Publications 4 Births 5 Deaths 6 See also 7 References

Incumbents

• Monarch - Elizabeth II
• Prime Minister - John Major, Conservative

Events

January

• January - The economy grew in the final quarter of last year - the second successive quarter of economic growth - but the recovery was still too weak for the end of the recession to be declared.^[1]
• 1 January - Teletext Ltd. launches a new Teletext service on ITV and Channel 4, replacing the 14-year-old ORACLE teletext service.^[2]
• 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 Princess Diana wants a divorce from Prince Charles, despite the announcement of their separation last month stating that there were no plans for a divorce.
• 11 January - British Airways admits liability and apologises "unreservedly" for an alleged "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.[3]
• 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.
• 14 February - Unemployment is reported to be increasing quicker in Tory 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 taxatation - 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.

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: An IRA bomb on Warrington, Cheshire, claims the life of three-year-old Jonathan Ball and injures more than 50 other people.^[5]
• 25 March - The IRA attack on Warrington claims its second victim when 12-year-old Timothy Parry dies in hospital from his injuries.^[5]

April

• 2 April - Vauxhall launches its all-new Corsa supermini, which replaces the decade-old Nova.
• 3 April - A false start forces the Grand National to be cancelled.^[6]
• 5 April - Child Support Agency begins operation.
• 22 April - Black London teenager Stephen Lawrence is stabbed to death in London while waiting for a bus.
• 24 April - Bishopsgate bombing. A massive bomb explodes at Bishopsgate in the City of London. The blast destroys the medieval St Ethelburga's church, and badly damages the NatWest Tower and Liverpool Street tube station.^[7]
• 26 April - Government declares official end of the recession after revealing that the economy grew by 0.6% in the first three months of this year. The recession began nearly three years ago and lasted much longer than most economists expected.[4]
• 29 April - The Queen announces that Buckingham Palace will open to the public for the first time.^[8]

May

• 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 Tory majority now stands at 19 seats.
• 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.

June

• 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.^[9]
  • 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.[6]
• 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

• July - The public sector trade union UNISON is formed by merger of the National and Local Government Officers Association (NALGO), the National Union of Public Employees (NUPE) and the Confederation of Health Service Employees (COHSE).^[10]
• 16 July - MI5 publishes a booklet, The Security Service, revealing publicly for the first time its activities, operations and duties, as well as the identity and photographs of Stella Rimington as Director General.^[11]
• 22 July - Government almost defeated by "Maastricht Rebels", however a vote of no confidence does not succeed
• 29 July - Conservative Party loses the Christchurch by-election to the Liberal Democrats - a seat they have held since 1910. New MP Diana Maddock gains more than 60% of the vote - twice as many as the Conservative candidate Robert Hayward. This sees the Tory majority fall to 17 seats.^[12]

August

• 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.^[13]
• 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 on Tower Hamlets.^[14]
• 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

• 8 October - John Major launches his Back to Basics campaign.^[15]

November

• 1 November - Women's Royal Naval Service disbanded, its members being fully absorbed into the regular Royal Navy.
• 5 November - Civil servants stage a one-day strike.
• 9 November - Princess Diana sues the Daily Mirror over photographs that were taken of her at a gym.
• 18 November - Unemployment fell last month by 49,000 - the biggest monthly fall since April 1989 - as the economic recovery continues.
• 25 November - TV entertainer Roy Castle, 61, announces that he is suffering from a recurrence of the lung cancer which he was believed to have overcome one year ago.
• 29 November - The Conservative government comes under a vitriolic attack in the House of Commons over allegations that it has secret contacts with the Provisional Irish Republican Army.

December

• 3 December - Diana, Princess of Wales, announces her withdrawal from public life.^[16]
• 9 December - Despite the steady economic recovery, the Conservative government is now 18 points behind Labour (who have 47% of the vote) in the latest MORI poll. The Liberal Democrats have also eaten into their support and now have 20% of the vote.[7]
• 10 December - Richard J. Roberts wins the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine jointly with Phillip Allen Sharp "for their discoveries of split genes".^[17]
• 14 December - Yasser Arafat makes his first official visit to Britain.
• 15 December - The Downing Street Declaration signed between the UK and Irish governments on the future of Northern Ireland.^[18]
• 25 December - The Queen speaks of her hopes for peace in Northern Ireland in her Christmas Day speech.
• 29 December - The IRA vows to fight on against the British presence in Northern Ireland.

Undated

• With the economy growing for the first time since spring 1990, inflation is at a 33-year low of 1.6%. [8]
• Closure of Ravenscraig steelworks brings an end to steelmaking in Scotland.^[19]
• Completion of Thames Water Ring Main beneath London (80 km).^[20]

Publications

• Iain M. Banks' novel Against a Dark Background.
• Iain Banks' novel Complicity.
• Pat Barker's novel The Eye in the Door.
• Louis de Bernières' novel Captain Corelli's Mandolin.
• Terry Deary's The Terrible Tudors, first in the Horrible Histories series.
• Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Men at Arms and his Johnny Maxwell novel Johnny and the Dead.
• Irvine Welsh's novel Trainspotting.

Births

• 25 June - Barney Clark, actor

Deaths

• 17 January - Albert Hourani, historian (born 1915)
• 20 January - Audrey Hepburn, actress (born 1929)
• 18 February - Jacqueline Hill, actress (born 1929)
• 24 February - Bobby Moore, footballer (born 1941)
• 3 March - Tony Bland, man injured at Hillsborough disaster in 1989 who was allowed to die after a landmark legal challenge by his family (born 1970)
• 9 March - C. Northcote Parkinson, historian (born 1909)
• 17 March - Charlotte Hughes, longest-lived person ever documented in the United Kingdom (born 1877)
• 15 April - Robert Westall, author (born 1929)
• 18 April - Dame Elisabeth Frink, sculptor (born 1930)
• 30 April - Tommy Caton, footballer (born 1962)
• 30 May - Mel Rees, footballer (born 1968)
• 10 June - Les Dawson, comedian (born 1931)
• 19 June - William Golding, writer, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1911)
• 20 August - Tony Barton, former footballer, football coach and football manager (born 1937)
• 5 October - Jim Holton, footballer (born 1951)
• 22 November - Anthony Burgess, author (born 1917)
• 9 December - Danny Blanchflower, former footballer, football manager and writer (born 1926)

See also

Years in the United Kingdom Years in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland 1801 1802 1803 1804 1805 1806 1807 1808 1809 1810 1811 1812 1813 1814 1815 1816 1817 1818 1819 1820 1821 1822 1823 1824 1825 1826 1827 1828 1829 1830 1831 1832 1833 1834 1835 1836 1837 1838 1839 1840 1841 1842 1843 1844 1845 1846 1847 1848 1849 1850 1851 1852 1853 1854 1855 1856 1857 1858 1859 1860 1861 1862 1863 1864 1865 1866 1867 1868 1869 1870 1871 1872 1873 1874 1875 1876 1877 1878 1879 1880 1881 1882 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 Years in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1927 1928 1929 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012

References