2008 in the United Kingdom
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Countries of the United Kingdom
England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales
Popular culture

Events from the year 2008 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

Events

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

  • July – Further bad news for the economy shows that it contracted by 0.1% in the second quarter of this year – ending 16 years of unbroken economic growth.[29]
  • 11 July – 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election: Former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis retains his seat with a 71.6% vote share.[30] A record 26 candidates contest the by-election.
  • 18 July – The surge in Conservative support continues as the latest MORI poll puts them 20 points ahead of Labour on 47%. With an election due within the next two years and possibly next year, David Cameron is well on course to become the next prime minister of the United Kingdom. With an economic crisis beginning and fears of a recession and mass unemployment rising, it is widely expected that his popularity will continue to grow.[31]
  • 22 July – The London Motor Show is held, a highlight being Vauxhall's launch of its new Insignia that will replace the Vectra. The Insignia is due on sale later in the year.[32]

August

  • 1 August – Barry George is acquitted of the murder of Jill Dando.[5]
  • 3 August – British motorcyclist Craig Jones is involved in a serious accident during the 2008 Supersport World Championship at Brands Hatch, dying of his injuries the following day aged just 23.
  • 8–24 August – Great Britain compete at the Olympics in Beijing. The team win 19 gold, 13 silver and 15 bronze medals and finish fourth in the medal table, the best performance for the Great Britain team in a century.[33]
  • 17 August – A light aircraft approaching Coventry collides with a microlight, all five people on board the two aircraft are killed.
  • 19 August – Following legal depositions at Birmingham Crown Court, Judge Frank Chapman rules that Anthony Hall, charged with the 1961 murder of Jacqueline Thomas should not stand trial for the crime, and that the charge should be stayed because it was "just too long ago", and Hall would not receive a fair and balanced trial.[34]
  • 21 August – The Home Office announces that an investigation will be launched after a consultancy firm lost the data of 84,000 prisoners and 43,000 criminals.

September

  • 6 September – Eight people are killed when storms hit the UK causing flash flooding in many areas.
  • 6–17 September – Great Britain compete at the Paralympics in Beijing.
  • 12 September – Labour MP Siobhain McDonagh is dismissed from her role as an assistant government whip after publicly announcing that she had written to Labour's General Secretary calling for a leadership contest at the forthcoming party conference.
  • 14 September – Amid the financial crisis, rise in unemployment and threat of recession, the Labour government's popularity is reported to have fallen dramatically. In January, they had a lead of up to 10 points over the Conservatives in the opinion polls, but the latest Ipsos MORI poll puts them 16 points behind the Conservative Party, who now have a 45% approval rating.[35]
  • 16 September – Minister of State for Scotland David Cairns resigns after writing to Prime Minister Gordon Brown requesting a leadership debate.
  • 24 September – Labour's Secretary of State for Transport Ruth Kelly resigns stating the need to spend more time with her family.

October

  • October
  • 2 October – Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Ian Blair announces his resignation with effect from 1 December 2008, citing a lack of support from new Mayor of London Boris Johnson.
  • 3 October – Peter Mandelson returns to the Westminster cabinet as Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform as part of a reshuffle following Ruth Kelly's resignation.
  • 6 October – Footballer Luke McCormick, a former goalkeeper for Plymouth Argyle, is sentenced to seven years in prison for causing death by dangerous driving.[37]
  • 8 October – The government announce a bank rescue package worth some £500 billion as a response to the ongoing financial crisis.
  • 13 October – The House of Lords vote against a measure in the Counter-Terrorism Bill that would have enabled the government to detain suspects for up to 42 days without charge.
  • 14 October – Key Stage 3 SATs tests are scrapped. The national curriculum tests for 13–14-year-olds were first introduced in 1991.[38]
  • 18 October – The Russell Brand Show prank calls row: An episode of The Russell Brand Show airs on BBC radio, featuring a series of prank telephone calls to the actor Andrew Sachs by comedians Russell Brand and Jonathan Ross, leading to large numbers of complaints, chiefly after an article in The Mail on Sunday the following week.[39]
  • 21 October – Nathaniel Rothschild accuses Conservative Shadow Chancellor George Osborne of soliciting to party funds a donation from Russian Oligarch Oleg Deripaska when they were both guests of Mr Rothschild in Corfu in August 2008. The allegations appear in a letter written by Mr Rothschild to The Times newspaper and are denied by George Osborne.
  • 24 October – The Office for National Statistics reveal that Britain's economy shrunk by 0.5% in the quarter from July to September – the first quarterly detraction since 1992.[40]
  • 26 October
    • A severe storm in the Lake District causes extensive flooding while 2,500 runners were taking part in a fell race, but all participants are later accounted for.
    • A weak earthquake hits Hereford and Worcestershire, measuring 3.6 on the Richter scale.
  • 27 October – Employment and Support Allowance (ESA) replaces new claims for Incapacity Benefit and Income Support on the basis of incapacity to work for most claimants.[41]

November

December

  • 4 December
    • Karen Matthews, 32, is convicted of the kidnapping her 9-year-old daughter, Shannon, in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire, on 19 February.
    • Lapland New Forest, a Christmas themed park in Dorset closes after scores of complaints about the poor quality of its attractions.[44]
  • 13 December – Actress Kathy Staff dies aged 80 at a nursing home in Ashton-under-Lyne.[45]
  • 16 December – Sean Mercer, 18, is found guilty of murdering 11-year-old Rhys Jones who was shot dead in Croxteth, Liverpool, in August last year. Mercer is sentenced to life imprisonment as the trial judge recommends that he serve at least 22 years before parole can be considered.[46]
  • 18 December
  • 19 December – MFI cease trading, closing all 111 of its furniture stores and leaving its 1,400 workforce redundant. The furniture retailer had been in business since 1964, and had used the MFI name since 1971.[49]
  • 27 December – The first wave of Woolworths store closures sees 200 stores shut their doors, with the closure to be completed in the new year unless a buyer for the company can be found in the next few days.[50]

Undated

  • January – VirtualGym TV is established.
  • Backbone Connect, internet service provider is founded.
  • Replica, an online magazine is founded.[51]
  • Sales of new cars in Britain defy the deteriorating economic conditions, with well over 2.5 million sales this year compared to barely 2.4 million last year. The Ford Focus enjoys its tenth successive year as Britain's best selling new car.

Publications

Births

  • 10 January – Michael Kirsop, YouTuber
  • 11 February – Frankel, racehorse
  • 7 July – Sky Brown, Olympic park skateboarder (in Japan)

Deaths

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

See also

References

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  5. 1 2 3 McGuinness, Ross (16 March 2009). "Metro". p. 30.
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  25. "Olympic stadium work starts early". BBC News. 22 May 2008. Retrieved 23 January 2011.
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  33. "GB Olympians power to new heights". BBC Sport. 19 August 2008. Archived from the original on 28 August 2008. Retrieved 19 August 2008.
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  49. "Furniture chain MFI closes down". BBC News. 19 December 2008. Archived from the original on 14 February 2009. Retrieved 18 March 2009.
  50. Woolworths Stores Begin To Close After Going Into Administration | Business | Sky News
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