January
After an ITV drama, the government suddenly proposed to do something about the unjust prosecution of sub-postmasters. Junior doctors went on strike. There was a surge in scabies. The King went to hospital and was later found to have cancer. The Princess of Wales was in hospital with what turned out to be cancer. Five migrants died boarding a boat for England off Wimereux. In Beirut, Israel killed the deputy head of Hamas. Israel said that it expected war in Gaza to continue throughout the year. The United States, with token British support, struck sites in Yemen to deter Houthi attacks on shipping. Russia mounted the biggest missile bombardment of its war against Ukraine. China’s population fell by 2.08 million to 1.41 billion.
February
Michelle O’Neill of Sinn Fein became the First Minister of Northern Ireland. Lee Anderson MP lost the Conservative whip. Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader jailed in 2021, died aged 47 in a penal colony inside the Arctic Circle. Witchcraft charges against the Seychelles opposition leader, Patrick Herminie, were dropped. Cocoa prices reached a new high of $5,874 a ton. The number of babies born in Japan fell to a new low.
March
Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, standing at a lectern in Downing Street, said: ‘It is beyond horrifying that last night the Rochdale by-election returned a candidate who denies the horror of what happened on 7 October.’ Vaughan Gething became First Minister of Wales, saying: ‘I have the honour of becoming the first black leader in any European country.’ Sir Jeffrey Donaldson resigned as leader of the Democratic Unionist party after being charged with historical sexual offences. President Vladimir Putin of Russia was re-elected. Islamic State said it had attacked a concert venue at Krasnogorsk, killing 145. The US Supreme Court overruled Colorado’s disqualification of Donald Trump from running for president. A container ship hit a bridge in Baltimore. Sam Bankman-Fried, founder of the collapsed cryptocurrency exchange FTX, was sentenced to 25 years for fraud.
April
Rishi Sunak said that within 12 weeks asylum seekers could be flown to Rwanda. Dr Hilary Cass’s review of gender identity services for under-18s called for an end to prescription of powerful hormone drugs. Humza Yousaf resigned as the First Minister of Scotland. Iran attacked Israel with 300 drones and missiles; British fighter jets shot down ‘a number of drones’.
May
Sadiq Khan was re-elected for Labour as Mayor of London. John Swinney was elected leader of the Scottish National party after no one stood against him. Members of the Garrick Club voted to let women join. Rishi Sunak apologised to the patients who were allowed to catch HIV and hepatitis from infected blood. He then announced an election standing in heavy rain in Downing Street and making a speech as though it weren’t raining. Sir Keir Starmer made a speech saying he was raised in Oxted, and earned pocket money ‘clearing stones for farmers’. Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, said: ‘We certainly won’t be increasing income tax or national insurance if we win.’ Paula Vennells, chief executive of the Post Office between 2012 and 2019, appeared before the public Post Office Horizon IT Inquiry, repeatedly weeping. Russia made an incursion into Ukraine near Kharkiv. China held military drills around Taiwan.
June
Rishi Sunak returned early from ceremonies for the anniversary ofD-Day in Normandy. Nigel Farage took over the Reform party and had a McDonald’s banana milkshake thrown over him. Operations were cancelled at hospitals after a cyber attack. Junior doctors went on strike again. Record numbers of people caught gonorrhoea. Fierce fighting between Israel and Hamas continued. President Putin paid a state visit to North Korea. Donald Trump was convicted of falsifying business records. Julian Assange was freed.
July
In the election Labour won 412 seats; the Conservatives were left with 121. Rachel Reeves cancelled the universal winter fuel payment. Vaughan Gething resigned as First Minister of Wales after 118 days. The former BBC news presenter Huw Edwards pleaded guilty to making indecent images of children. Rioters in Harehills, Leeds, set fire to a bus. Three children were stabbed to death at a Taylor Swift-themed dance class at Southport, Lancashire, and widespread riots ensued. Worldwide, some 8.5 million computers reliant on Microsoft failed, through a faulty antivirus update. A bullet hit the upper part of Donald Trump’s ear at an outdoor rally. President Joe Biden withdrew his candidacy, endorsing instead Vice President Kamala Harris for the Democrats. President Paul Kagame extended his 24-year rule of Rwanda. The Olympics began with rain, in which Sir Keir Starmer was praised by supporters for putting up the hood of his anorak. Iran promised retaliation against Israel for the death in Tehran of Ismail Haniyeh, the political head of Hamas.
August
Rioting, from Plymouth to Sunderland, went on for a week. Lord Alli was found to have donated £18,000 of ‘work clothes’ (suits and glasses) to Sir Keir Starmer. Ukraine received its first F-16 fighter jets. Russia launched its biggest air attack on Ukraine yet. Ukraine captured 500 square miles of Russian territory in the Kursk region. Israel recovered the bodies of six hostages held by Hamas, found, recently shot, in a tunnel in Rafah. Imane Khelif exclaimed ‘I am a woman!’ after winning an Olympic boxing medal. Mount Etna erupted.
September
More than 1,700 prisoners were released early. Some 3,000 members of Hezbollah were wounded by exploding pagers. Israel killed Hassan Nasrallah, the leader of Hezbollah, in an airstrike. President Emmanuel Macron of France made Michel Barnier Prime Minister. The Spectator was bought for £100 million by Sir Paul Marshall. Sir Keir Starmer announced that he would no longer accept donations of clothes. Two cosmonauts left the International Space Station after a record 374-day stay. John Lewis reintroduced its slogan, ‘Never knowingly undersold’. Tupperware filed for bankruptcy.
October
Sue Gray resigned as chief of staff to Sir Keir Starmer. Rachel Reeves raised taxes by £40 billion. Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, said that fat unemployed people would get injections of weight-loss drugs. Britain said it was handing over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius. The government released 1,100 more prisoners early. The number of migrants in boats to arrive in England surpassed the 29,437 last year. Father Timothy Radcliffe, the English Dominican, was named a cardinal. Israel killed Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas architect of the attacks of 7 October 2023. Israel banned Unrwa, the UN’s Palestinian aid agency, from operating in the country. North Korean soldiers arrived in Russia to fight Ukraine. More than 200 people died in Spanish floods. Prague banned hen and stag parties in the street after 10 p.m.
November
Donald Trump, 78, was elected President of America. He asked Elon Musk, 53, to lead a department of government efficiency. Kemi Badenoch, 44, became leader of the Conservative party. Justin Welby, 68, resigned as Archbishop of Canterbury. Sue Gray turned down the job as the Prime Minister’s envoy for the nations. Louise Haigh, 37, resigned as transport secretary. Farmers protested in Westminster against inheritance tax on farms. The Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill, sponsored by Kim Leadbeater, got its second reading in the Commons by 330 to 275. A convoy of 109 UN food-aid lorries was looted in Gaza.
December
Damascus was captured by Syrian rebels led by Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, an Islamist movement. President Bashar al-Assad fled to Moscow. Michel Barnier’s administration fell when he lost a vote of confidence after three months as prime minister of France. Notre-Dame Cathedral was reopened. The President of South Korea imposed martial law but lifted it six hours later when MPs managed to get into parliament and vote against it. In Tbilisi, protestors took to the street against the pro-Russian Georgian Dream party. Lord Hague of Richmond was elected chancellor of Oxford. Llandudno pier was wrecked by a storm. CSH
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