1981 in the United Kingdom

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Years in the United Kingdom:	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
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Years:	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984

Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg 1981 in the United Kingdom: Image:Flag of the United Kingdom.svg
British and Irish current events
Sport and Music
1981 British Grand Prix
1981 English cricket season
Football Image:Flag of England.svg England \| Image:Flag of Scotland.svg Scotland
1981 in British music
United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 1981

Events from the year 1981 in the United Kingdom.

1 Incumbents
2 Events
3 Births
4 Deaths
5 References

[edit] Incumbents

Monarch - HM Queen Elizabeth II
Prime Minister - Margaret Thatcher, Conservative

[edit] Events

2 January - Peter Sutcliffe, a 35-year-old lorry driver from Bradford, is charged with being the notorious "Yorkshire Ripper" mass murderer who is believed to have murdered 13 women and attacked seven others across northern England since 1975. ^[1]
January 9- The funeral of Princess Alice, Countess of Athlone, the last surviving grandchild of Queen Victoria, takes place at St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. She had died six days previously at the age of 97.
January 16- Northern Ireland civil rights campaigner and former Westminster MP, Bernadette McAliskey is shot and injured at her home in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Loyalist terrorists suspected.^[2]
January 18- New Cross Fire- 18 young black people are killed in an arson attack on a house in New Cross, London. ^[3]
January 25- The Limehouse Declaration: Four Labour MPs, Shirley Williams, Roy Jenkins, William Rodgers and David Owen announce plans to form a separate political party- the Social Democratic Party. ^[4]
February 18 - Thatcher government withdraws plans to close down 23 mines after negotiations with National Union of Mineworkers. ^[5]
February 24- The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer announce their engagement.^[6]
March 9 - John Lambe, a 37-year-old lorry driver, is sentenced to life imprisonment for the rape of 12 women in the space of less than four years. ^[7]
March 23 - government imposes a ban on animal transportation on the Isle of Wight and southern Hampshire after an outbreak of foot and mouth disease in cattle. ^[8]
March 24- Barbados police rescue Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs after being kidnapped in Brazil. ^[9]
March 26- Social Democratic Party formed by the so-called "Gang of Four": Shirley Williams, William Rodgers, Roy Jenkins, and David Owen. ^[10]
March 29- The first London Marathon is held. ^[11]
April 4- Bucks Fizz was the winner of Eurovision Song Contest with the song, Making Your Mind Up.
April 10- Bobby Sands, an IRA terrorist on hunger strike in the Maze prison, Northern Ireland is elected MP for Fermanagh and South Tyrone in a by election. ^[12]
April 11- Brixton riot ^[13]
May 5- Bobby Sands, a 27-year-old republican, dies in Northern Ireland's Maze Prison after a 66-day hunger strike.
May 19- Peter Sutcliffe is found guilty of being the Yorkshire Ripper after admitting 13 charges of murder and a further seven of attempted murder. He is sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommended minimum of 30 years.
June 13- The Queen is shot at by a youth, Marcus Sarjeant, who fired six blank cartridges as the Queen entered Horse Guards Parade.^[14]
July 5- Toxteth riots: about 80 police injured in two days of rioting, and first use was made of CS gas by British police. ^[15]
July 29- The marriage of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer takes place at St Paul's Cathedral.^[16]
August - A busy month for the British motor industry sees two major new car launches. British Leyland releases its new Triumph Acclaim four-door saloon, the first product of a recent venture with Honda which is expected to see a Rover SD1 replacement on sale by 1986. Vauxhall launches the new front-drive Cavalier, which is available as a five-door hatchback for the very first time.
August 9 - Broadmoor Hospital falls under heavy criticism after the escape of a second prisoner in three weeks. The latest absconder is 32-year-old Alan Reeve, a convicted double murderer.
October 3 - end of hunger strikes at the Maze prison. ^[17]
October 24- CND anti-nuclear march in London attracts over 250,000 people.^[18]
October 30- Nicholas Reed, chief of the Euthanasia charity Exit jailed for two-and-a-half years for aiding and abetting suicides. ^[19]
November 25- A report into the Brixton Riots, which scarred inner-city London earlier this year, points the finger of blame at the social and economic problems which have been plaguing Brixton and many other inner-city areas across England.
December 20- Penlee lifeboat disaster: crew of ship Union Star and lifeboat sent to rescue it all killed in heavy seas. Some of the bodies were never found. ^[20]
The London department store Whiteleys closes, after 107 years in business.