1995 in the United Kingdom

1995 in the United Kingdom:

Other years

1993 | 1994 | 1995 (1995) | 1996 | 1997

Individual countries of the United Kingdom

England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales

Sport, Television and music

1995 British Grand Prix 1995 English cricket season Football: England | Scotland 1995 in British television 1995 in British music 1995 in British radio UK in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995

Events from the year 1995 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• Prime Minister – John Major (Conservative)

Events

January

• 1 January - South Korean industrial giant Daewoo announces plans to build a new car factory in the United Kingdom within the next few years, costing up to £350million and creating thousands of new jobs. The company will sell its first cars in the United Kingdom later this year.^[1]
• 20 January - The first MORI poll of 1995 shows that the Conservative Party have cut Labour's lead in the polls from 39 points to 29.^[2]

February

• 1 February - New domestic electrical appliances must be supplied with an appropriately fused pre-wired plug.^[3]
• 7 February - Rumbelows, the electrical goods retailer and former sponsors of the Football League Cup, closes its 311 stores with the loss of more than 3,000 jobs.
• 15 February - The manufacturing sector has reported its biggest rise in employment since the Conservative government first came to power 16 years ago, although the national unemployment total rose slightly last month, still being in excess of 2,500,000.
• 16 February - Neil Kinnock, former Labour Party leader, resigns from parliament after 25 years to take up his new role as a European Commissioner, sparking a by-election in his Islwyn seat in South Wales. Labour holds onto the seat with new candidate Don Touhig, who gains nearly 70% of the vote.
• 17 February - The famous MG sports car brand, not seen on a volume sports car since 1980, is revived when the Rover Group unveils the new MGF sports car which will go on sale this autumn.
• 26 February - Barings Bank, the UK's oldest merchant bank collapses following $1.4 billion of losses by rogue trader, Nick Leeson.
• 28 February - The Diary of Bridget Jones column first published in The Independent.^[4]

March

• 9 March - The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh visit Northern Ireland for the first time since the IRA and Loyalist ceasefires which came into force last year.^[5]
• 20 March - The Queen arrives in Cape Town for the first royal visit to South Africa in nearly 50 years.

April

• 1 April - Daewoo begins selling cars in the United Kingdom. It offers a two-model range; the Nexia and Espero - updated versions of the 1984 Vauxhall Astra and 1981 Vauxhall Cavalier respectively.^[6]

May

• 4 May - The Conservative government's fortunes continue to decline as the local council elections see them in control of a mere eight councils, while Labour control 155 councils and the Liberal Democrats control 45. The Conservatives now have control of no councils in Wales or Scotland.
• 8 May - The 50th anniversary of VE Day is celebrated across Britain.
• 25 May - Roseanna Cunningham wins the Perth by-election for the Scottish National Party, three months after the seat became vacant with the death of her Conservative predecessor Sir Nicholas Fairbairn three months ago. The Conservative majority has now fallen from 21 seats to 11 in the space of three years since the last general election.

June

• 9 June - Andrew Richards, a 26-year-old serial sex offender of West Glamorgan, becomes the first person to be convicted of male rape under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994.^[7]
• 22 June - In an attempt to re-assert his authority, John Major resigns as leader of the Conservative Party (but not as prime minister) triggering a leadership election.^[4]
• 23 June - The latest MORI opinion poll shows that Conservative support has reached an 18-month high of 32%, but Labour still have a 22-point lead over them.^[8]

July

• 4 July - John Major wins the Conservative Party leadership election, gaining 218 votes to John Redwood's 89.^[9]
• 19 July - Unemployment is reported to be on the rise again, though the government denies that it is pointing towards another recession.
• 23 July - War in Bosnia and Herzegovina: British forces sent to Sarajevo to help relieve the Siege of Sarajevo.^[10]
• 27 July - The Conservative government's majority is slashed further, to nine seats, as the Liberal Democrats win the Littleborough and Saddleworth seat in Lancashire, two months after it was left vacant by the death of MP Geoffrey Dickens.

August

• 16 August - Unemployment is now at 2,315,300 - one of the lowest figures recorded in the last four years.

September

• 2 September - Boxer Frank Bruno wins the WBC world heavyweight championship.^[4]

October

• 7 October - Conservative MP Alan Howarth defects to Labour, cutting the government's majority to seven seats.^[11]
• 18 October - Unemployment is now at less than 2,300,000 - its lowest level for more than four years.
• 19 October - Julie Goodyear, who joined the ITV soap opera Coronation Street nearly 30 years ago and has been a regular in the series since 1970, departs fom the show.
• 20 October - Vauxhall unveils its new Vectra range of large hatchbacks and saloons. The Vectra, which replaces the Cavalier, will be built in Luton and from next year will also be sold as an estate.
• 22 October - Brilliant!, an exhibition by the Young British Artists group (who also feature heavily in this year’s British Art Show), opens at the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, USA.^[12][13]
• 25 October - Singer Cliff Richard receives a knighthood.^[4]

November

• 16 November - Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother has a hip replacement operation. At 95, she is believed to be the oldest patient to undergo such surgery.^[14]
• 17 November
  • Launch of the European Space Agency's Infrared Space Observatory including a Long Wave Spectrometer built in the UK.^[15]
  • The Today newspaper is discontinued after nine years in circulation.
• 20 November - The Princess of Wales gives a revealing television interview to Martin Bashir on the Panorama show on BBC One. The Princess discusses her adultery, depression and bulimia, her children, the media and the future of the monarchy in candid detail.^[16] An estimated 22.78 million watch the broadcast,^[17] the all-time record for a UK current affairs programme.
• 24 November - The spy James Bond returns to cinemas six years after the last film was made, for the sixteenth film GoldenEye, with Irish actor Pierce Brosnan playing Bond.^[18]
• 28 November - Budget: Chancellor Ken Clarke cuts the basic level of income tax to 24p in the pound.
• 30 November - President of the United States, Bill Clinton visits Northern Ireland.^[19]

December

• 2 December - "Rogue trader" Nick Leeson is jailed for six-and-a-half years in Singapore on a double fraud charge relating to the recent financial collapse of Barings Bank.^[20]
• 10 December - Joseph Rotblat wins the Nobel Peace Prize.^[21]
• 20 December - The Queen writes to The Prince and Princess of Wales urging them to divorce as soon as possible.^[22]
• 29 December - The Conservative majority now stands at a mere five seats following the defection of MP Emma Nicholson to the Liberal Democrats.^[23]

Undated

• Contingent fee litigation permitted in the Courts of England and Wales.^[24]

Publications

• Martin Amis's novel The Information.
• Iain Banks' novel Whit.
• Pat Barker's novel The Ghost Road.
• Nick Hornby's novel High Fidelity.
• Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Maskerade.
• Philip Pullman's novel Northern Lights.

Births

• 9 July - Georgie Henley, actress
• 14 July - Oliver Harfield, philosopher
• 24 August - Lady Amelia Windsor daughter of George, Earl of St. Andrews

Deaths

• 1 January - Fred West, serial killer (born 1941) (suicide by hanging while in custody)
• 7 January - Larry Grayson, comedian and gameshow host (born 1923)
• 14 January - Alexander Gibson, conductor (born 1926)
• 30 January - Gerald Durrell, naturalist, zookeeper, author and television presenter (born 1925)
• 2 February
  • Fred Perry, tennis player (born 1909)
  • Donald Pleasence, actor (born 1919)
• 12 February - Robert Bolt, writer (born 1924)
• 23 February - James Herriot, veterinary surgeon and writer (born 1916)
• 17 March - Ronnie Kray, jailed crime leader (born 1933)
• 23 March - Davie Cooper, footballer (born 1956)
• 4 April - Kenny Everett comic radio/TV presenter (born 1944) (AIDS-related)
• 7 April - Nicholas Ingram, first British citizen to be executed by the electric chair in the United States (born c. 1964)
• 2 May - Michael Hordern, actor (born 1911)
• 15 May - Eric Porter, actor (born 1928)
• 24 May - Harold Wilson, former Prime Minister (born 1916)
• 30 May - Ted Drake, former footballer and football manager (born 1912)
• 24 July - George Rodger, photojournalist (born 1908)
• 3 August - Ida Lupino, actress and director (born 1914)
• 19 August - Johnny Carey, former footballer and football manager (born 1919)
• 25 September - Dave Bowen, former footballer and football manager (born 1928)
• 28 September - Albert Johanneson, South African born, British based footballer (born 1940)
• 9 October - Alec Douglas-Home, former Prime Minister (born 1903)
• 4 November - Paul Eddington, actor (born 1927)
• 16 November - Leah Betts, high profile victim of the drug ecstasy (born 1977)
• 22 December - James Meade, economist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1907)

References

See also