A poor Labour campaign by leader Neil Kinnock squandered significant support for the opposition and helped Conservative John Major to a surprise general election victory, with a slim overall majority of 21. Princess Elizabeth was in Kenya when news of her father's death reached her. The monopoly of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was broken when commercial television companies, financed by advertising, began broadcasting under the name of Independent Television (ITV) following the Television Act of 1954. The crowd of between 7,000 and 10,000 people had been marching in protest at the policy of detention without trial. Saddam Hussein remained in power in Iraq. He became the fourth Conservative prime minister since 1951. VideoMelania Trump ex-confidante tell-all dishes on 'Princess Ivanka'Jacob Blake: Trump visits Kenosha to back police after shootingWildlife Photographer of the Year: How many crocodiles can you see?Heart of Belgian city mayor found entombed in fountainCharlie Hebdo: Magazine republishes controversial Mohammed cartoonsLampedusa: Migrant with coronavirus gives birth in helicopterCoronavirus: Apple iPhones can contact-trace without Covid appZimbabwe to return land seized from foreign farmers 1 January – First broadcast of The Archers, now the world's longest-running soap opera. A fourth plane crashed in Pennsylvania, killing all on board. President of France Charles de Gaulle announced the French veto on Britain's application to join the European Common Market, the forerunner of the European Union. It paved the way for the privatisation of British Aerospace, Cable and Wireless, Britoil, the National Bus Company, British Airways, Rolls Royce, British Steel, British Telecom, the electricity-generating industry and the water companies. The abolition of the death penalty for murder - one of the few remaining crimes for which capital punishment could still be handed down - effectively meant the final abolition of the death penalty. Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher narrowly escaped the blast. A local strike on 5 March over a threatened pit closure in Yorkshire had, within a week, broadened into a national miners' strike. Under the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921, the British crown had retained some authority in the Irish Free State, although this was limited by the 1937 constitution. The bombing by Irish Republican Army terrorists of the Grand Hotel Brighton during the Conservative Party conference killed five and left more than 30 injured. In 1991, President of Uganda Yoweri Museveni invited them to 'return home' to help the Ugandan economy. The Channel Tunnel provided an unprecedented rail link between London and Paris, something that had been planned for over a century. Signs of a Labour recovery appeared in Scotland, where they won 50 of the 72 seats. Their resettlement came to be viewed as a success story. England defeated West Germany in the World Cup final, which was held at Wembley and watched by 93,000 people in the stadium and 400 million people around the world on television. It also embarked on a programme of far-reaching constitutional reform. He focused on foreign affairs, including reducing escalating Cold War tensions and maintaining the 'special relationship' with America, which he had done so much to develop during World War Two. The nationalisation of the coal industry represents a major shift in industrial policy. The preceeding three - Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden and Macmillan - all resigned for a variety of reasons. Many of the riots reflected specific local problems, especially poor relations between predominantly black communities and the police. Twentieth Century Britain : Modern Britain: 1901. British History Timeline by BBC.
The crisis of confidence in her leadership had been sparked by her attitude to Europe, while her support for the so-called 'poll tax' had undermined her standing with the electorate. The General Practitioner (GP) service became organised on the basis of a 'capitation fee' paid by the government on every patient registered with a doctor. VideoGrowing up in the world's largest refugee camp. This event marked the beginning of rapid decolonisation in Africa. Labour won a commanding majority of 167 seats. This unexpected result appears to have reflected doubts about Labour's economic management, a view focused by a poor set of trade figures.