Events from the year 1991 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents Monarch – Elizabeth II Prime Minister – John Major (Conservative)

Events

January January – Tax-exempt special savings accounts (TESSAs) are introduced as a government concession to promote personal savings. 3 January – The UK expels all Iraqi diplomats from the country due to the Iraqi government's illegal annexation of Kuwait five months earlier. 5 January – 27 people die as a result of gale-force winds across Britain. 8 January – A train crash at Cannon Street station in London kills one person and injures over 500. 11 January – As the recession deepens, 335 employees at the Peugeot car factory in Coventry are made redundant, while Ford is looking for up to 1,000 voluntary redundancies at its British factories. Thousands of jobs in the financial services sector are reportedly at threat, as the total UK unemployment figure is currently standing at nearly 1,800,000, but is expected to rise to well over 2,000,000 by the end of the year. 16 January – The final phase of the M40 motorway through Oxfordshire is opened, giving the West Midlands conurbation its first direct motorway link with London. 17 January – The Gulf War begins, as the Royal Air Force joins Allied aircraft in bombing raids on Iraq. 18 January – In spite of the deepening recession, the Conservatives have climbed back to the top of the opinion polls, a MORI poll placing them five points ahead of Labour on 46%. 19 January – It is announced that unemployment has reached more than 1.8 million, and experts warn that the figure will exceed 2 million later this year. 29 January – John Major resists calls from the Labour Party for interest rates to be cut in a bid to combat the recession.

February 7 February – The Provisional Irish Republican Army launch a mortar attack against 10 Downing Street in London, blowing in all the windows of the cabinet room, during a session of the War Cabinet, but there are no injuries. 8 February – Heavy snow disrupts the country for a second time during the winter 1990–1991 season as Britain experiences a prolonged cold snap. 17 February – Barclays Bank is reported to be on the verge of axing more than 13,000 employees. 18 February – Bombings of Paddington and Victoria stations in London early this morning by the Provisional Irish Republican Army kill one person. 21 February – English-born ballet legend Dame Margot Fonteyn dies of cancer aged 71 in Panama City. 26 February – English scientist Tim Berners-Lee introduces WorldWideWeb, the first web browser, while working at CERN in Geneva; the first website goes online on 6 August. 27 February – The National Institute of Economic and Social Research predicts that the recession will end this summer. 28 February – Iraq accepts a provisional ceasefire, and British troops halt their advance on Baghdad.

March 3 March – An Ipsos MORI poll shows that John Major is more popular with his voters than his Conservative government. 8 March – Ribble Valley, the tenth safest Conservative constituency in Britain, is won by the Liberal Democrats in a by-election (caused by the departure of David Waddington to the House of Lords). 10 March – The UK reportedly has the fastest pace in rising unemployment of all the European Community countries. 14 March – The Birmingham Six are freed from prison after 17 years when the Court of Appeal quashes their convictions over the 1974 pub bombings in Birmingham which killed 21 people and injured more than 160 others, a decision anticipated on 25 February by an announcement from Allan Green, Director of Public Prosecution. 15 March – Unemployment is now above 2,000,000 for the first time in two years. The number of British workers employed in the manufacturing industry has fallen below 5,000,000 for the first time since records began. 19 March – Norman Lamont predicts 2% economic contraction for this year. 21 March – Education Secretary Kenneth Clarke announces plans to remove further education and sixth form colleges from local authority control. 23 March The Government launches its Citizen's Charter campaign. John Major announces abolition of the unpopular Community Charge ("poll tax"). On 23 April, the government confirms that it is to be replaced by a new Council Tax in 1993. 28 March – An inquest in Sheffield into the Hillsborough disaster records a verdict of accidental death on the 95 people who died as a result of the tragedy in 1989. Many of the victims' families criticise the verdict in open court, as many of them had been hoping for a verdict of unlawful killing (which is eventually obtained in 2016), or an open verdict, and for criminal charges to be brought against the police officers who patrolled the game.

April 3 April – Novelist Graham Greene dies aged 86 at his home in Vevey, Switzerland. 4 April Social services in the Orkney Islands are criticised for their handling of more than 100 children who have returned to their families after being taken away over allegations of child abuse. The Neath by-election in Wales, caused by the death of Labour MP Donald Coleman on 14 January, is held; Labour retains the seat, with the candidate, Peter Hain, receiving more than half of the vote. 8 April – The Football Association announces plans for a new "super league" of eighteen clubs to replace the Football League First Division as the highest division of English football. The move is attacked by smaller Football League clubs, who fear that they could go out of business if TV revenue is confined to the proposed super league. 18 April – Despite the continuing recession, the Conservatives are still top of the opinion polls as the latest MORI poll puts them two points ahead of Labour on 42%. The Liberal Democrats have trebled their showing in the last fifteen months, now gaining 15% of the vote. 19 April – George Carey is enthroned as Archbishop of Canterbury.

May 5 May – Hopes for a quick end to the recession are boosted by CBI predictions that a sharp recovery in business profits will begin shortly. 6 May – Arsenal are crowned champions of the Football League. 15 May – Manchester United win the European Cup Winners' Cup with a 2–1 win over FC Barcelona of Spain in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Mark Hughes scores both of their goals to give English clubs a winning return to European competitions after their five-year ban was lifted last year. 16 May Unemployment is now at 2,175,000 – the highest figure since late-1988. It is also above the European average for the first time since 1987. The Monmouth by-election in Wales, caused by the death of the sitting Conservative MP, Sir John Stradling Thomas on 29 March, is held; the Conservatives are defeated once again, and Labour gains the seat. Elizabeth II becomes the first British monarch to address the United States Congress during a 13-day royal visit in Washington, D.C. 18 May Helen Sharman becomes the first British person in space, flying with the Soyuz TM-12 mission. Tottenham Hotspur win the FA Cup for a record eighth time with a 2–1 win over Nottingham Forest. Midfielder Paul Gascoigne, a multimillion-pound transfer target for Italian side Lazio, suffers cruciate knee ligament damage early in the game and is not expected to play again in 1991. 21 May – South Wales, which has some of the worst unemployment rates in Britain, receives a boost when the go-ahead is given for Japanese electrical company Sony to build a new factory in Bridgend that will create 1,400 jobs when it opens in 1993. 22 May – Nearly six months after the breakthrough in the Channel Tunnel service tunnel, the breakthrough in the North rail tunnel is achieved. On the same day, road links to the British terminal are improved when the final section of the M20 motorway is opened between Maidstone and Ashford, meaning that the tunnel's unbroken motorway link with London has already been completed an estimated three years before the first trains move between Britain and France. 24 May Labour tops a MORI poll for the first time this year, as they stand six points ahead of the Conservatives on 43%. Sutton Manor Colliery at Bold in the Lancashire Coalfield closes, the last in Britain to use a steam winding engine. 27 May – Eric Heffer, Labour MP for Liverpool Walton, dies after a long battle against cancer, aged 69. 29 May – Economists warn that the economy is still in an "exceptionally steep" recession and that it could be another year before the first real signs of recovery become visible.

June June – Kia, the Korean car company, begin importing cars to the United Kingdom for the first time; initially it will import only the Pride (a rebadged version of the Japanese Mazda 121), but at least one further model is expected to join it by 1994. 3 June – The British Army kill three IRA gunmen in Northern Ireland. 6 June Labour Party leader Neil Kinnock condemns John Major for high interest rates, as much as 17%, being charged on small businesses by banks. Lipkin Gorman v Karpnale Ltd decided in the House of Lords, foundational in English unjust enrichment law.. 10 June – The National Gallery in London opens its new Sainsbury Wing to the public. 13 June – Unemployment reaches 2.25million, the lowest monthly rise reported this year. 14 June Two long-serving actors both die aged 83 on the same day: Dame Peggy Ashcroft in London, and Bernard Miles (Lord Miles) in Knaresborough. Julie Ann Gibson becomes the first woman to qualify as a pilot with the Royal Air Force. 19 June – Secretary of State for Employment Michael Howard announces a £230,000,000 plan to tackle rising unemployment. 20 June – Murder of Harry Collinson: A local government officer is shot dead in a planning dispute in County Durham in front of media cameras. 25 June – Nissan, the Japanese carmaker with a plant at Sunderland, starts "price wars" by reducing the cost of its cars in order to boost flagging sales brought on by the recession. 27 June – Criminal Procedure (Insanity and Unfitness to Plead) Act 1991 (coming into effect from 1992) provides that, if the accused in a criminal trial in England and Wales is found unfit to plead, then a trial of the facts before a jury may be held. 28 June Seven months after her resignation as Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher announces that she will stand down as a Member of parliament at the next general election, which has to be held within the next twelve months. The final breakthrough in the Channel Tunnel is achieved when the last section of clay in the South rail tunnel is bored away.

July July South African-produced cars are imported to Britain for the first time, with the launch of the Sao Penza, a rebadged version of the Mazda 323. However, the brand and the car is not a success and imports end just 2 years later.Motoring Production of the Vauxhall Belmont compact saloon ends ahead of the launch of the third generation Astra range of hatchbacks and estates which goes on sale in the Autumn with saloon and convertible models arriving later. 3 July – Michael Shorey is convicted at the Old Bailey of the July 1990 murders of Elaine Forsyth and Patricia Morrison, two estate agents with whom he shared a basement flat in north London. He is sentenced to two terms of life imprisonment. The former EastEnders actress Sandy Ratcliff, who provided Shorey with an alibi for the night of the murders, is subsequently convicted of perjury. 4 July – The Liverpool Walton by election, caused by the death of the sitting Labour MP Eric Heffer on 27 May, is held; Labour holds the seat, with new MP Peter Kilfoyle gaining more than half of the vote. 5 July – The Bank of England closes down the Bank of Credit and Commerce International amid fraud allegations. Several local authorities in the UK lose millions of pounds in investments held with the bank.