1993 in the United Kingdom

Events from the year 1993 in the United Kingdom.

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

Incumbents edit

Events edit

January edit

  • 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 family hatchbacks, saloons and estates which will reach showrooms on 22 March as a 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 edit

  • 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.[6]
  • 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 edit

  • 4 March – Former Cabinet minister Nicholas Ridley dies from lung cancer less than a year after retiring from the House of Commons, aged 64.
  • 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.[7]
  • 22 March – The Ford Mondeo goes on sale.[8]

April edit

May edit

  • 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.[15]
  • 7 May
  • 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 edit

  • 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.[16]
  • 10 June – Comedian and TV presenter Les Dawson dies suddenly from a heart attack during a medical check-up in Greater Manchester hospital at the age of 62.
  • 11 June – Actor and comedian Bernard Bresslaw dies suddenly from a heart attack following a collapse in his dressing room at London's Open Air Theatre at the age of 59.
  • 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.[17]
    • 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.[18]
  • 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 edit

August edit

  • 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.[23]
  • 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 edit

October edit

November edit

December edit

Undated edit

  • Completion of Thames Water Ring Main beneath London (80 km).[37]
  • 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%.[38]

Publications edit

Births edit

Deaths edit

January edit

 
Audrey Hepburn

February edit

 
Bobby Moore

March edit

 
C. Northcote Parkinson

April edit

 
Mick Ronson

May edit

 
Freya Stark
 
John Frost

June edit

 
William Golding

July edit

 
Margaret Campbell, Duchess of Argyll

August edit

 
Tony Barton

September edit

 
Sir John Moores (left)

October edit

 
Jo Grimond

November edit

 
Freda Corbet
 
Anthony Burgess

December edit

 
Danny Blanchflower

See also edit

References edit

  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. Archived from the original on 9 October 2012. Retrieved 26 September 2011.
  5. ^ a b c "Poll tracker: Interactive guide to the opinion polls". Election 2010. BBC. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  6. ^ "James Bulger 'battered with bricks'". The Guardian. 2 November 1993. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  7. ^ "Child killed in Warrington bomb attack". BBC News. 20 March 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  8. ^ "Mk1 Ford Mondeo review". Motoring Research. Retrieved 11 July 2018.
  9. ^ "Grand National ends in 'shambles'". BBC News. 3 April 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  10. ^ "3 April 1993: Esha Ness 'wins' the Grand National that never was". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 October 2022.
  11. ^ "The Royal Logistic Corps and Forming Corps". The Royal Logistic Corps Museum. Archived from the original on 14 August 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2013.
  12. ^ "IRA bomb devastates City of London". BBC News. 24 April 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  13. ^ "Recession over – it's official". BBC News. 26 April 1993. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  14. ^ "Queen to open Palace doors". BBC News. 29 April 1993. Archived from the original on 21 January 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  15. ^ "Man Utd: The man who told Alex Ferguson his side were champions". BBC News. 2 May 2013.
  16. ^ "In pictures: Holbeck Hall landslip". BBC News. 5 June 2013. Retrieved 13 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Minister resigns over business links". BBC News. 24 June 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  18. ^ "Voting Intention in Great Britain: 1976–present". Ipsos MORI. 18 July 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2012.
  19. ^ "UNISON Family Tree" (PDF). unionancestors.co.uk. Archived from the original (PDF) on 21 February 2011. Retrieved 4 February 2011.
  20. ^ a b "Young photographer exposed Somalia's horrors". CNN. 7 December 1997. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  21. ^ "16 July 1993: Secret Service goes public". On This Day. BBC. 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
  22. ^ "How the Government's Majority Disappeared". Politics 97. BBC. 1997. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  23. ^ "Millwall History". Millwall Football Club. Archived from the original on 1 October 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  24. ^ "About Us". UK Independence Party. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  25. ^ "Shock as racist wins council seat". BBC News. 17 September 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  26. ^ Wintour, Patrick (9 October 1993). "Major goes back to the old values". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 26 September 2007.
  27. ^ Announced 18 November.
  28. ^ Lowe, Rodney; Pemberton, Hugh (7 May 2020). The Official History of the British Civil Service: Reforming the Civil Service, Volume II: The Thatcher and Major Revolutions, 1982-97. Routledge. p. 202. ISBN 978-0-429-89476-3.
  29. ^ Smyth, Rob (15 February 2012). "The forgotten story of … 17 November 1993". The Guardian. London.
  30. ^ "Soccer fans jailed after rocket killed pensioner". The Independent. London. 27 May 1994. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022.
  31. ^ Boggan, Steve (19 November 1993). "The M40 Crash: Day trip to disaster for 11 young musicians". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  32. ^ Boggan, Steve (20 November 1993). "13th pupil dies but crash cause still unknown". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on 1 May 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2012.
  33. ^ "Do I Not Like That". FrontlineFootball. 1994. Archived from the original on 9 June 2012. Retrieved 20 March 2013.
  34. ^ Penguin Pocket On This Day. Penguin Reference Library. 2006. ISBN 0-14-102715-0.
  35. ^ "The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 1993". Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  36. ^ "Anglo-Irish pact paves way for peace". BBC News. 15 December 1993. Archived from the original on 7 March 2008. Retrieved 13 February 2008.
  37. ^ Institution of Civil Engineers (1994). "Thames Water Ring Main". Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. 102 (special issue 2). London: Thomas Telford. ISBN 0-7277-2003-1.
  38. ^ "Inflation: the Value of the Pound 1750-1998" (PDF). 19 February 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 February 2006.
  39. ^ a b c "One Direction | Members, Songs, & Facts | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 9 January 2022.
  40. ^ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England and Wales, 1916–2005 B100D.
  41. ^ "Laura Muir". British Athletics. Retrieved 28 April 2020.
  42. ^ "The Girls". Ascot Racecourse. Retrieved 14 July 2017.[permanent dead link]
  43. ^ "FIFA Women's World Cup Canada 2015: List of players: England" (PDF). FIFA. 6 July 2015. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 May 2015. Retrieved 1 June 2019.
  44. ^ Hannam, Laura. "Katie McGlynn in The Syndicate: Does the ex Coronation Street star have a boyfriend?". Entertainment Daily. Digitalbox. Retrieved 10 August 2021.
  45. ^ "Alexandra Mardell – things you didn't know about the Coronation Street actress". What's on TV. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  46. ^ Berry, Jo (2015). The Alfie & Zoella A-Z: The Unofficial Ultimate Guide to the Vlogging Super-Couple. Orion. p. 12. ISBN 978-1-4091-6101-1.
  47. ^ Cherry Valentine Dies at 28
  48. ^ Ross Barkley
  49. ^ Airedale NHS Trust v Bland [1993] 1 All ER 821 HL.