January – Statistics show that economic growth returned during the final quarter of 1991 after five successive quarters of contraction.[1]
9 January
Liberal Democrat leader Paddy Ashdown proposes a £3billion package which would create 400,000 jobs in 12 months.
Alison Halford, the UK's most senior policewoman, is suspended from duty for a second time following a Merseyside police authority meeting.[2]
10 January – The first full week of 1992 sees some 4,000 jobs lost across the UK, as the nation's recession continues. Almost 20% of those job cuts have been by GEC, the UK's leading telecommunications manufacturer, where 750 redundancies are announced today.
The first MORI poll of 1992 shows the Conservatives three points ahead of Labour on 42%, while the Liberal Democrats have their best showing yet with 16% of the vote.[3]
29 January – The Department of Health reveals that AIDS cases among heterosexuals increased by 50% between 1990 and 1991.
9 February – Prime Minister John Major speaks of his hopes that the recession will soon be over as the economy is now showing signs of recovery.
15 February – Neil Kinnock, Labour Party leader, speaks of his belief that the Conservative government's failure to halt the current recession will win his party the forthcoming general election.
18 February – David Stevens, head of community relations[where?], blames the recession for the recent rise in crime across the UK – most of all in deprived areas.
20 February – Hopes of an end to the recession are dashed by government figures which reveal that GDP fell by 0.3% in the final quarter of 1991.
23 February – The London Business School predicts an economic growth rate of 1.2% for this year, sparking hopes that the recession is nearing its end.
Toyota launches the Carina E large family hatchback, saloon and estate range which will initially be imported from Japan before production of European market models commences later this year at the new Burnaston plant near Derby.[7]
6 March – Parliament passes the Further and Higher Education Act, allowing polytechnics to become new universities. Legislation passed under the Act on 4 June allows them to award degrees of their own, and they thus reopen in September for the new academic year with the status of universities.[8] In addition, sixth form colleges are to become independent of local education authority control.
11 March
John Major announces a general election for 9 April.
Shadow Chancellor John Smith condemns the recent Budget as a "missed opportunity" by the Conservatives, saying that they did "nothing" for jobs, training, skills, construction or economic recovery.
The editors of Punch, the UK's oldest satirical magazine, announce that it will be discontinued due to massive losses. In circulation since 1841, it publishes its last issue on 8 April.[11]
April – Statistics show that the first quarter of this year saw the economy grow for the second quarter running, the sequel to five successive quarters of detraction, though the growth is still too narrow for the recession to be declared over.
1 April – The latest opinion polls show a narrow lead for Labour, which would force a hung parliament in the election next week.
7 April – The final MORI poll before the general election shows Labour one point ahead of the Conservatives on 39%, while the Liberal Democrats continue to enjoy a surge in popularity with 20% of the vote. Most opinion polls show a similar situation, hinting at either a narrow Labour majority or a hung parliament.[3]
9 April – General election: the Conservative Party are re-elected for a fourth successive term, in their first election under John Major's leadership. Their majority is reduced to 21 seats but they have attracted more than 14,000,000 votes – the highest number of votes ever attracted to a party in a general election. Notable retirements from parliament at this election include former prime minister Margaret Thatcher and former Labour leader Michael Foot.[4]
10 April
Three people are killed in the Baltic Exchange bombing, a van bomb planted by the IRA in the City of London.
With the government's victory in the election confirmed, John Major assures the public that he will lead the country out of recession that has blighted it for nearly two years.
11 April – Publication of The Sun newspaper's iconic front-page headline 'It's The Sun Wot Won It', as the tabloid newspaper claims it won the general election for the Conservatives with its anti-Kinnock front-page headline on election day.
Neil Kinnock resigns as leader of the Labour Party following the defeat of his party in the General Election.[13] he had led the party for eight-and-a-half years since October 1983, and is the longest serving opposition leader in British political history.[14]
The Princess Royal announces her divorce from Capt Mark Phillips after 19 years of marriage, having separated in 1989.
16 April – Unemployment has now risen 23 months in succession, but the March rise in unemployment is the smallest monthly rise so far.
12–15 May – Rioting breaks out on the Wood End housing estate in Coventry, and spreads to the Willenhall district.
12 May – Plans are unveiled for a fifth terminal at Heathrow Airport, which is now the busiest airport in the world.
17 May – Nigel Mansell gains the 26th Grand Prix win of his racing career at Imola, San Marino. He is now the most successful British driver in Grand Prix races, and the fourth worldwide.
22 May – Twenty-two "Maastricht Rebels" vote against the government on the second reading of the European Communities (Amendment) Bill.
22–29 May – A week-long rave festival in Castlemorton Common in the Malvern Hills is held, causing media outrage due to drug-use and noise complaints from neighbours.
June
June – Cones Hotline introduced enabling members of the public to complain about traffic cones being deployed on a road for no apparent reason.
7 June – A controversial new biography of the Princess of Wales, Diana: Her True Story, written by Andrew Morton, is published, revealing that she has made five suicide attempts following her discovery that the Prince of Wales (the later Charles III) had resumed an affair with his previous girlfriend Mrs Parker Bowles (the later Queen Camilla) shortly after Prince William's birth in 1982.[16]
17 June
Almost 2.7 million people are now out of work as unemployment continues to rise.
24 June – Ravenscraig steelworks, the largest hot strip steel mill in Western Europe, closes,[17] ending steelmaking in Scotland.
25 June – GDP is reported to have fallen by 0.5% in the first quarter of this year as the recession continues.
30 June – Margaret Thatcher enters the House of Lords as Baroness Thatcher.[18]
July
July – Statistics show that the economy contracted during the second quarter of this year.
2 July – The IRA admits to murdering three men whose bodies were found by the army at various locations around Armagh last night. The men are believed to have been informers employed by MI5.[19]
10 July – Another sign of economic recovery is shown as inflation falls from 4.3% to 3.9%.
15 July – Killing of Rachel Nickell: a 23-year-old mother is stabbed to death in broad daylight while out walking her dog on Wimbledon Common; her murderer, Robert Napper, will not be convicted until 2008.
16 July – Riots break out in Hartcliffe, Bristol, following the deaths of two local men who died when the stolen police motorcycle they were riding was hit by a police car.
23 July – Three months after losing the general election, Labour finish four points ahead of the Conservatives in a MORI poll, with 43% of the vote.[3]
27 July – Alan Shearer becomes England's most expensive footballer in a £3.6 million transfer from Southampton to Blackburn Rovers. Shearer, who turns 22 next month, was a member of England's Euro 92 national squad, having scored on his debut in a friendly international against France in February this year.[22]
6 August – Lord Hope, the Lord President of the Court of Session, Scotland's most senior judge, permits the televising of appeals in both criminal and civil cases, the first time that cameras have been allowed into courts in the United Kingdom.[23]
10 August – Nissan commences production of its British builtMicra supermini, which goes on sale in Britain and the rest of Europe at the end of this year.[24]
17 August – Five months after the demise of Aldershot FC, Maidstone United resign from the Football League due to large debts and being unable to fulfill their fixtures for the new Division Three season.
17 September – There is more bad news for the economy as unemployment is at a five-year high of 2,845,508, and experts warn that it will soon hit 3,000,000 for the first time since early 1987.
18 September – The latest MORI poll shows the Labour Party four points ahead of the Conservatives at 43%, following the events of Black Wednesday two days earlier.
19 September – Operatic bass-baritone Sir Geraint Evans dies in Bronglais Hospital, Aberystwyth, aged 70.
24 September – David Mellor resigns as Heritage Minister amid tabloid press speculation that he had been conducting an adulterous affair with actress Antonia de Sancha.[27]
30 September – The Royal Mint introduces a new 10-pence coin which is lighter and smaller than the previous coin.
Statistics show a return to economic growth for the third quarter of this year.[29]
7 October – The murder of Nikki Allan, a seven-year-old girl, happened in Sunderland, which went unsolved until May 2023.[30]
9 October – Two suspected IRA bombs explode in London, but there are no injuries.
13 October – The government announces the closure of a third of Britain's deep coal mines, with the loss of 31,000 jobs.[31]
14 October – The England football team begins its qualification campaign for the 1994 FIFA World Cup with a 1–1 draw against Norway at Wembley Stadium.
15 October – The value of the pound sterling is reported to have dipped further as the recession deepens.
16 October – The government attempts to tackle the recession by cutting the base interest rate to 8% – the lowest since June 1988.
19 October – John Major announces that only ten deep coal mines will be closed.
21 October – Commodore UK release the new Amiga 1200 computer.
25 October – Around 100,000 people protest in London against the government's pit closure plans.
26 October – British Steel Corporation announces a 20% production cut as a result in falling demand from its worldwide customer base.
30 October – IRA terrorists force a taxi driver to drive to Downing Street at gunpoint and once there they detonate a bomb, but there are no injuries.
British Telecom reports a £1.03 billion profit for the half year ending 30 September – a fall of 36.2% on the previous half year figure, as a result of the thousands of redundancies it has made this year due to the recession.
Unemployment has continued to climb and is now approaching 2,900,000. It has risen every month since June 1990, when it was below 1,700,000. The current level has not been seen since mid-1987.
19 November – The High Court rules that doctors can disconnect feeding tubes from Tony Bland, a young man who has been in a coma since the Hillsborough disaster in 1989. Bland, of Liverpool, suffered massive brain damage in the disaster and doctors treating him say that there is no reasonable possibility that he could recover consciousness and in his current condition would be unlikely to survive more than five years.[33]
20 November – Part of Windsor Castle is gutted in a fire, causing millions of pounds worth of damage.
23 November – Ford unveils the new Mondeo, which succeeds the long-running Sierra and goes on sale in March 1993.
24 November – The Queen describes this year as an Annus Horribilis (horrible year) due to various scandals damaging the image of the Royal Family, as well as the Windsor Castle fire.
26 November
The Queen is to be taxed from next year, marking the end of almost 60 tax-free years for the British monarchy.[34]
9 December – The separation of the Prince and Princess of Wales (Charles and Diana) is announced following months of speculation about their marriage, but there are no plans for a divorce and John Major announces that Diana could still become Queen.[4]
11 December – The last MORI poll of 1992 shows Labour thirteen points ahead of the Conservatives on 47%, just three months after several polls had shown a Conservative lead. Black Wednesday, which has damaged much of the government's reputation for monetary excellence, is largely blamed for the fall in Conservative support.[3]
The national unemployment level has risen to more than 2.9 million, with the unemployment rate in the south-east of England now above 10% for the first time.
Jonathan Zito is stabbed to death by Christopher Clunis, a partially treated schizophrenic patient.
23 December – The Queen's Royal Christmas Message is leaked in The Sun newspaper, 48 hours ahead of its traditional Christmas Day broadcast on television.[38]
31 December
Thames Television, TVS, TSW and TV-am broadcast for the last time. The ORACLEteletext service is discontinued on ITV and Channel 4 to be replaced by a new service operated by the Teletext Ltd. consortium, having been launched on ITV in 1978 and used by Channel 4 since its inception in 1982.
The economy has grown in the final quarter of this year – the second successive quarter of economic growth – but the recovery is still too weak for the end of the recession to be declared.[39]
Undated
Inflation has fallen to a six-year low to 3.7%.[40]
Most leading retailers, including WH Smith, withdraw vinyl records from stock due to a sharp decline in sales brought on by the rising popularity of compact discs and audio cassettes.[42]
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