Events from the year 1984 in the United Kingdom. The year was dominated by the miners' strike.
Incumbents Monarch – Elizabeth II Prime Minister – Margaret Thatcher (Conservative)
Events
January January – General Motors ends production of the Vauxhall Chevette after nine years. 1 January – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. 3 January – The FTSE 100 Index starts. 6 January – The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders announces that a record of nearly 1.8 million cars were sold in Britain last year. The best-selling car for the second year running was the Ford Escort with more than 174,000 sales. 9 January – Sarah Tisdall, a 23-year-old Foreign Office clerk, is charged under the Official Secrets Act. 13 January – Six people die when Britain is battered by hurricane-force winds. 14 January – Six people die during a fire at the Maysfield Leisure Centre in Belfast. 15 January – Left-wing MP Tony Benn wins the Labour Party's nomination for the Chesterfield by-election, eight months after losing his seat as Member of parliament (MP) for Bristol in the General Election. 25 January – The government prohibits GCHQ staff from belonging to any trade union.
February 1 February Japanese car maker Nissan signs an agreement with the British government to build a car factory in Britain. This landmark deal means that foreign cars will be built in Britain for the first time, with the factory set to open during 1986. Chancellor of the Exchequer Nigel Lawson announces that after 13 years, the halfpenny will be demonetised and withdrawn from circulation. 7–19 February – Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Winter Olympics in Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, and win one gold medal. 12 February – Austin Rover announces that the Triumph marque will be discontinued this Summer after 63 years, as the Triumph Acclaim's successor will be sold as a Rover. 14 February – Torvill and Dean win a gold medal for ice skating at the Winter Olympics.
March 1 March – Labour MP Tony Benn is returned to parliament after winning the Chesterfield by-election, having lost his previous seat at the general election last year. 2 March – Just five months after becoming Labour Party leader, Neil Kinnock's ambition of becoming prime minister at the next election (due to be held by June 1988) are given a boost when Labour come top of a MORI poll with 41% of the vote (compared to the 38% attained by the Conservatives). Just over six months ago, the Conservatives had a 16-point lead over Labour in the opinion polls. However, Kinnock is still faced with the task of overhauling a triple-digit Conservative majority. 12 March – Miners' strike begins and pits the National Union of Mineworkers against Margaret Thatcher's Conservative government intent on free market reform of the nationalised industries, which includes plans for the closure of most of Britain's remaining coal pits. 14 March – Sinn Féin's Gerry Adams and three others are seriously injured in a gun attack by the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF). 21 March – European Economic Community summit breaks down over disagreement over Britain's budget rebate with Margaret Thatcher threatening to veto any expansion of spending plans. 23 March – Hilda Murrell, 78-year-old rose grower and anti-nuclear campaigner, is found dead near her home in Shropshire, five days after being reported missing. West Mercia Police launch a murder investigation. 27 March – Starlight Express opens at Apollo Victoria Theatre in London. 28 March – A greenfield site at Washington, near Sunderland, is confirmed as the location for the new Nissan car factory. 31 March – Chatham Dockyard in Medway is closed after being used a shipbuilding yard for over 400 years since the reign of Henry VIII.
April 2 April – Youth gangs run riot in Wolverhampton, looting from shops. 4 April – Peace protesters evicted from the Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp. 9 April – More than 100 pickets are arrested in violent clashes at the colliery at Creswell, Derbyshire, and the Babbington Colliery in Nottinghamshire. It is estimated that 46 out of 176 British coal mines are currently active as miners fight government plans to close 20 coal mines across Britain. 12 April Arthur Scargill, the leader of the National Union of Mineworkers, rules out a national ballot of miners on whether to continue their strike, which has already lasted five weeks. Telecommunications Act 1984 provides for the privatisation of British Telecom. 15 April – Comedian Tommy Cooper, 63, collapses and dies on stage from a heart attack during a live televised show, Live from Her Majesty's. 17 April – WPC Yvonne Fletcher is shot and killed by a secluded gunman during a siege outside the Libyan Embassy in London in the event known as the 1984 Libyan Embassy Siege. 11 other people are also shot but survive. 22 April – In the wake of WPC Yvonne Fletcher's death, Britain severs diplomatic relations with Libya and serves warning on its seven remaining Libyan diplomats to return to their homeland. 25 April – Austin Rover launches its new Montego four-door saloon which replaces the Austin Ambassador and Morris Ital and is derived from the Maestro hatchback. A five-door estate version of the Montego is due later this year. 27 April – 30 Libyan diplomats leave Britain.
May 2 May – The Liverpool International Garden Festival opens in Liverpool. 3 May – By-elections are held in Cynon Valley in Wales, and Stafford and South West Surrey in England, caused by the deaths of their MPs (respectively Ioan Evans of Labour, and Conservatives Hugh Fraser and Harold Macmillan's son Maurice). All three seats are held by the incumbent parties. The new MPs are Ann Clwyd, Bill Cash and Virginia Bottomley. 8 May – The Thames Barrier, designed to protect London from floods, is opened by The Queen. 12 May – Liverpool F.C. secure a third consecutive league title and the 15th in the club's history, despite being held to a 0–0 draw away at Notts County. 19 May Everton win the FA Cup, their first major trophy for 14 years, with a 2–0 win over Watford in the final at Wembley Stadium. The goals are scored by Andy Gray and Graeme Sharp. Everton's last FA Cup triumph came in 1966, and they have now won the trophy four times. The Poet Laureate Sir John Betjeman dies aged 77 at his home in Trebetherick, Cornwall. 23 May – 16 people are killed in the Abbeystead disaster, caused by exploding methane gas. 26 May – The football British Home Championship, which has been contested by the four home nations since 1884, witnesses its last game. Northern Ireland win the trophy. 28 May – Comedian Eric Morecambe dies of a heart attack aged 58 after collapsing on stage at the Roses Theatre in Tewkesbury the previous day. 29 May – Fighting at Orgreave colliery between police and striking miners leaves 64 injured. 30 May The Queen officially opens a new terminal at Birmingham Airport. The terminal has been in use since the start of last month, replacing the original terminal that opened in 1939. Liverpool win the European Cup for the fourth time with a penalty shoot-out victory over AS Roma of Italy after a 1–1 draw in the final at Olympic Stadium in Rome. Liverpool, who have also won the Football League First Division and Football League Cup this season, are the first English club to win three major trophies in the same season. Arthur Scargill is arrested and charged with obstruction at Orgreave.
June 1 June – Murder of Mark Tildesley: A 7-year-old boy from Wokingham in Berkshire disappears after visiting a local fairground and being abducted and killed by a paedophile group led by Sidney Cooke; only one named member of the gang is convicted of the crime (in 1992) and the victim's body will not be found (as of 2019). 7 June – 120 people are arrested when fighting breaks out outside the Houses of Parliament during a mass lobby by striking miners. 14 June The European Parliament Election is held. The Tories lead the way with 45 MEPs, with Labour in second place with 32. The SDP–Liberal Alliance gains 18.5% of the vote but fails to elect a single MEP. The Portsmouth South by-election is held, caused by the death of Conservative MP Bonner Pink on 6 May; the SDP under Mike Hancock wins the seat. 15 June – A miner picketing a Yorkshire power station is killed by a lorry. 18 June – Battle of Orgreave confrontation between picketing miners and police. 19 June – Austin Rover launches the Rover 200 saloon, the replacement for the Triumph Acclaim which marks the end of the Triumph brand after 63 years. Like its predecessor, the new car is the result of a venture with Honda. 20 June – The biggest school examination shake-up in over 10 years is announced with O-level and CSE examinations to be replaced by a new examination, the GCSE. The first GCSE courses will begin in September 1986 and will be completed in the Summer of 1988. 22 June – The inaugural Virgin Atlantic flight takes place. 29 June – Control of London Transport is removed from the Greater London Council and transferred to London Regional Transport (reporting to the Secretary of State for Transport) under terms of the London Regional Transport Act 1984. 30 June – Elton John plays the famous Night and Day Concert at Wembley Stadium. June – British unemployment is at a record high of around 3.26 million – though a higher percentage of the nation's workforce were unemployed during the Great Depression some 50 years ago.
July 4 July – The government announces the abolition of dog licences, which took place in the Local Government Act 1988. 6 July David Jenkins consecrated as Bishop of Durham, despite strong objections from conservative Christians. Murder of Isabel Schwarz, a psychiatric social worker, in South London. 7 July The 10th G7 summit held in London. Actress Dame Flora Robson dies of cancer aged 82 at her home in Brighton. 9 July – A fire in the roof of York Minster, probably caused by an electrical storm, causes extensive damage which is expected to cost millions of pounds to repair. 12 July – Robert Maxwell buys the Daily Mirror for £113.4 million. 18 July – The general-interest magazine Tit-Bits closes after 104 years. 19 July A magnitude 5.4 earthquake with an epicentre in the Llŷn Peninsula of North Wales is felt throughout the United Kingdom. Neil Kinnock's hopes of becoming prime minister are given a boost by the latest MORI poll which puts Labour three points ahead of the Conservatives on 40%, 26 July – Trade Union Act prohibits unions from striking without a ballot. 28 July–12 August – Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Olympics in Los Angeles, California, and win 5 gold, 11 silver and 21 bronze medals. 30 July – A train collides with a cow in the Polmont rail accident near Falkirk in Scotland; thirteen people are killed.
August 2 August – A Surrey businessman wins a case in the European Court of Human Rights over illegal phone tapping by the police. 11 August – Barefoot South African runner Zola Budd, controversially granted British citizenship earlier in the year, collides with Mary Decker in the 3000 meters final at the Olympics, neither finishing as medallists. 24 August – Vauxhall unveils the Mk2 Astra which will go on sale in October.
September 6 September – A MORI poll shows that the Conservatives now have a slim lead over Labour for the first time this year. 7 September – An outbreak of food poisoning in two Yorkshire hospitals has so far claimed 22 lives in the space of two weeks. 10 September – Geneticist Alec Jeffreys discovers DNA fingerprinting. 11 September – Police arrest Malcolm Fairley at an address in Kentish Town, London, following a nationwide manhunt for the sex attacker known as The Fox.