Events from the year 1992 in the United Kingdom. This year was the Ruby Jubilee of Elizabeth II.
This year is notable for a fourth-term general election victory for the Conservative Party; "Black Wednesday" (16 September), the suspension of the UK's membership of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism; and an annus horribilis for the Royal Family.
Incumbents Monarch – Elizabeth II Prime Minister – John Major (Conservative)
Events
January January – Statistics show that economic growth returned during the final quarter of 1991 after five successive quarters of contraction.Wayback Machine 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. 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. 14 January – The Bank of Credit and Commerce International goes into liquidation. 17 January Eight people are killed in the Teebane bombing carried out by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) in Northern Ireland. 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. 27 January – Actress Dame Gwen Ffrangcon-Davies dies at Halstead, Essex, two days after her 101st birthday, and a month after the screening of her final acting role. 29 January – The Department of Health reveals that AIDS cases among heterosexuals increased by 50% between 1990 and 1991. 30 January – John Major agrees a weapons control deal with new Russian premier Boris Yeltsin at 10 Downing Street.
February 2 February – Neil Kinnock, Labour leader, denies reports that he had a "Kremlin connection" during the 1980s. 6 February – The Queen commemorates her Ruby Jubilee, the first British monarch to do so since her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria in 1877. 7 February – Signing of the Maastricht Treaty. 8–23 February – Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, but do not win any medals. 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, 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.
March March The Saatchi Gallery in London stages the Young British Artists exhibition, featuring Damien Hirst's "shark", The Physical Impossibility of Death in the Mind of Someone Living. 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. 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. 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. 13 March – The first ecumenical church in Britain, the Christ the Cornerstone Church in Milton Keynes is opened. 17 March – Shadow Chancellor John Smith announces that there will be no tax reductions this year if Labour win the election. 19 March Buckingham Palace announces that the Duke and Duchess of York are to separate following six years of marriage. Unemployment has reached 2,647,300 – 9.4% of the British workforce, the highest level since late 1987. 24 March Election campaigning becomes dominated by the "War of Jennifer's Ear". 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. 25 March – Aldershot F.C., bottom of the Football League Fourth Division, are declared bankrupt and become the first Football League club in 30 years to resign from the league. 26 March – Television entertainer Roy Castle (59), who currently presents Record Breakers, announces that he is suffering from lung cancer. 29 March – John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer and father of Princess Diana, dies suddenly from pneumonia at the age of 68.
April 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. 4 April – Party Politics becomes the tallest horse to win the Grand National. 5 April – At his pre-election speech, Neil Kinnock promises a strong economic recovery if he leads the Labour party to election victory on Thursday. 6 April – Women's Royal Army Corps disbanded, its members being fully absorbed into the regular British Army. 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. 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 the House of Commons at this election include former prime minister Margaret Thatcher and former Labour leader Michael Foot. 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. 12 April – Manchester United win the Football League Cup for the first time with a 1–0 win over Nottingham Forest in the Wembley final. Brian McClair scores the only goal of the game. 13 April Neil Kinnock resigns as leader of the Labour Party following the defeat of his party in the General Election. 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. 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. 17–20 April – Lost Gardens of Heligan in Cornwall first opened to the public. 18 April – Comedian and actor Benny Hill dies suddenly from a heart attack at his home in Teddington, London, aged 68 (but is not found for 2 days). 19 April – Comedian and actor Frankie Howerd dies suddenly from a heart attack in Fulham, London, aged 75. 27 April – Betty Boothroyd, 62-year-old Labour MP for West Bromwich West in the West Midlands, is elected as Speaker of the House of Commons, the first woman to hold the position.
May 5 May – UEFA awards the 1996 European Football Championships to England, who will be hosting a major tournament for the first time since the 1966 World Cup. 6 May – John Major promises British voters improved services and more money to spend. 9 May – Liverpool win the FA Cup for the fifth time, beating Sunderland 2–0 in the Wembley final. Ian Rush and Michael Thomas score Liverpool's goals. 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. 16 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. After Diana's death, it is revealed that she was interviewed extensively for the book. 17 June Almost 2.7 million people are now out of work as unemployment continues to rise. The England national football team are eliminated from the European Championships in Sweden after losing 2–1 to the host nation in their final group game. 24 June – Ravenscraig steelworks, the largest hot strip steel mill in Western Europe, closes, 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.
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. 9 July – Riots break out in Ordsall, Greater Manchester.Four gunshots create a myth: The Ordsall estate, Salford, is now seen as another potential inner-city flashpoint, but Jonathan Foster finds a different picture | The Independe... 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.