2024 in the United Kingdom

2024 in the United Kingdom

Other years

2022 | 2023 | 2024 (2024) | 2025 | 2026

Countries of the United Kingdom

England | Northern Ireland | Scotland | Wales

Popular culture

Football: England | Scotland | Wales 2024 British Grand Prix 2024 English cricket season 2024 in British television 2024 in British music 2024 in British radio 2024 in United Kingdom politics and government United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2024

Events from the year 2024 in the United Kingdom.

Incumbents

• Monarch – Charles III
• Prime Minister – Rishi Sunak (Conservative)
• Parliament – 58th (17 December 2019 – present)

Events

January

• 1 January
  • Figures show the annual number of migrants crossing the English Channel fell during 2023, doing so for the first time since records began. The provisional annual total for 2023 is 29,437, a 36% decrease from the 2022 total of 45,774.
  • Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps says that British forces are ready to act against Houthi rebels targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea.
  • VAT on period pants is abolished, potentially making the products cheaper to buy.
  • A 5% increase in the price cap on domestic energy comes into force for England, Scotland and Wales.
  • Kimberlee Singler, a 35-year-old mother accused of the murder of two of her children in the United States, appears before Westminster Magistrates Court for extradition proceedings following her arrest in London on 30 December 2023.
  • HMRC announces a crackdown on tax evasion by those who make extra cash from "side hustle" websites like Airbnb, Amazon, eBay and Etsy.
• 2 January
  • Storm Henk:
    • The Met Office issues a severe weather warning as Storm Henk hits parts of the UK, bringing winds of up to 80 mph (128 km/h), along with the risk of flooding.
    • A man dies in Gloucestershire after a tree fell on his car during high winds.
    • At the London Eye, strong winds blow open a pod hatch while a family of 11 is 400 ft in the air.
    • Footage emerges of a mother and her three-year-old daughter being rescued from a submerged car in Birmingham.
    • An 87-year-old woman dies when the car she was driving hit a fallen tree. The crash occurred on the B4526 near Crays Pond, Oxfordshire at around 5.25pm.
  • Research published by the RAC indicates that the target set by the UK government for installing rapid or ultra-rapid chargers near motorways was missed during 2023.
  • Provisional data released by the Met Office indicates 2023 was the second warmest year on record in the UK behind 2022, with Wales and Northern Ireland experiencing their warmest year on record during 2023.
  • 16-year-old Luke Littler beats Rob Cross to reach the World Darts Championship final, making him the youngest person to reach the final; overtaking Kirk Shepherd who was 21 years and 88 days old in 2008.
• 3 January
  • Luke Littler becomes the youngest finalist of the PDC World Darts Championship as he faces Luke Humphries in the 2024 final at the age of 16 years and 348 days. Humphries wins the final.
  • Halifax, the UK's largest money lender, cuts its mortgage rates by almost 1%, with other banks and lenders following.
• 4 January
  • Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says his "working assumption" is that the general election will take place in the second half of this year.
  • Sainsbury's announces that they will offer pay rises from March as supermarkets continue their battle to retain workers. The increase means that all their workers will be paid the voluntary Real Living Wage, which is higher than the compulsory National Living Wage.
  • A man is arrested after firing shots at a cinema, newsagent, and a house in Croxteth, Liverpool.
• 5 January
  • The Metropolitan Police says it is not investigating allegations against Prince Andrew after unsealed court papers in the United States contained groping allegations against him.
  • Critics have branded comments by Sir Howard Davies, chair of NatWest, as "astounding" and "out of touch with reality" after he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme it was "not that difficult" for someone to buy a house.
  • Chris Skidmore, MP for Kingswood, announces his intention to stand down from Parliament "as soon as possible" in protest at the UK government's decision to issue more oil and gas licences. His decision will trigger another by-election.
  • Lawyers representing potential victims of the British Post Office scandal say they have been contacted by a further 50 people following the broadcast of the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office.
• 6 January
  • The Metropolitan Police confirms it has launched an investigation into the Post Office for potential fraud over the Horizon IT scandal.
  • The rate of National Insurance is reduced from 12% to 10%, reducing NI contributions for an estimated 27 million employees earning between £12,571 and £50,270.
• 7 January
  • Sir Keir Starmer admits he worries about the toll of a general election year on his two teenage children as he and his wife try to keep them out of the public eye.
  • Sunak describes the Post Office scandal as "an appalling miscarriage of justice" and says the government is looking at ways to clear the names of those convicted because of faulty IT software.
• 8 January
  • Mondelez International announces plans to celebrate the bicentenary 200th Anniversary of Cadbury.
  • Chinese authorities claim to have detained an individual who they say has been working for the British Secret Intelligence Service MI6.
  • Ofgem grants permission for energy companies to resume the forced installation of prepayment meters a year after the practice was suspended and after drawing up new rules that prohibits them being installed under certain conditions, such as households where the occupant is over 75, where there are children under two, and for those with certain health conditions.
  • At an event held in Parliament Square, the actor Idris Elba calls on the UK government to introduce an immediate ban on the sale of zombie knives and machetes to reduce the number of young people losing their lives because of the weapons.
  • London and the South-east see a mix of snow, sleet, and rain as the country braces for a week-long cold spell.
  • British Post Office scandal:
    • More than a million people have signed a petition calling for former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells to be stripped of her CBE in the wake of the Horizon IT scandal.
    • Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, who was Director of Public Prosecutions during the scandal, faces questions over why he failed to intervene in the prosecution of innocent sub-postmasters at the time.
• 9 January
  • Economists say that funding the student loans system in England is expected to cost the government an extra £10 billion a year.
  • British Post Office scandal:
    • Secretary of State for Justice Alex Chalk tells Parliament the UK government is giving "serious consideration" to introducing legislation to quash the convictions of the 700 or so sub post masters who were prosecuted as a result of the Horizon IT scandal.
    • Former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells announces that she will hand back her CBE after more than a million people signed a petition calling for her to do so.
    • Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, who was Post Office minister during the scandal, comes under pressure to return his knighthood.
• 10 January
  • British Post Office scandal:
    • Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces that emergency legislation will be brought through Parliament to "swiftly exonerate and compensate victims" of the Post Office scandal in England and Wales.
    • First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf confirms those in Scotland convicted because of the scandal will also be cleared, and that he will work with the UK government to bring this about.
  • Baroness Heather Hallett, chair of the UK COVID-19 Inquiry, confirms the inquiry will postpone the start of hearing evidence about the development of a vaccine as more time is needed to prepare for a separate investigation into the impact of COVID-19 on the NHS. Consequently, the vaccine evidence, which was due to begin being heard in Summer 2024 may not begin until after the next general election.
  • HS2 Ltd releases a revised forecast for building the London to Birmingham leg of the High Speed 2 rail link, which is now estimated to total £65bn.
• 11 January
  • Former England manager, Sven-Goran Eriksson, announces he has terminal cancer and that he has roughly a year to live.
  • BBC Panorama find that fast-fashion firm Boohoo have labelled 'Made in UK' on potentially thousands of clothes that were actually made in South Asia.
  • BBC News research indicates that most NHS targets have been missed for the past seven years.
  • Sunak authorises joint UK–US air strikes against Houthi rebels following attacks against cargo shipping targets in the Red Sea.
  • A fire starts on the 200 hybrid electric bus during the morning rush hour in Wimbledon.
• 12 January
  • 2024 missile strikes in Yemen:
    • The UK and US launch air strikes against Houthi rebel sites in Yemen.
    • The Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru call for a recall of parliament to enable a vote on RAF involvement in the air strikes, since Parliament had already risen for the weekend when Sunak authorised the UK's participation.
  • Data from the Office for National Statistics indicates the UK economy grew by 0.3% in November 2023, having retracted by the same amount the previous month, meaning the UK avoided going into recession, although the risk of doing so remains.
  • The government defends spending £27,000 replenishing its wine cellar during the COVID-19 pandemic.
  • Sunak announces a further £2.5bn in military aid for Ukraine during 2024.
  • British Post Office scandal:
    • The BBC reports that Post Office managers threatened and lied to the broadcaster in an attempt to conceal key evidence ahead of the broadcast of the 2015 Panorama documentary that brought the Horizon IT scandal to public attention.
    • Financial experts estimate the Post Office may have underpaid £100m in tax because of how it declared compensation payments to victims of the Horizon IT scandal.
• 13 January
  • Thousands of people join a pro-Palestinian march in London calling for a ceasefire in Gaza due to the ongoing Israel-Hamas War.
  • A fleet of electric buses are withdrawn in South London after a fire starts on the 200 hybrid electric bus on 11 January.
  • A new biography of Charles III by Daily Mail royal correspondent Robert Hardman says that a memo written by Queen Elizabeth II's private secretary, Sir Edward Young, reports that the Queen's final moments in September 2022 were "very peaceful".
  • Five cross-Channel migrants, the first seen in 2024, arrive in a Border Force boat in Kent after being picked up while crossing from France.
• 14 January
  • Five people die when a small boat overturned in French waters as around 70 people try to board it in an attempt to migrate across the English Channel to the UK.
  • Thousands of people attend a pro-Israel rally in London to mark 100 days since the 7 October attack and call for the release of all hostages from Gaza.
  • Six people are arrested over a plot by the protest group Palestine Action to disrupt the London Stock Exchange.
  • Ronnie O'Sullivan wins the 2024 Masters after beating Ali Carter, making him both the youngest and oldest winner in the tournament's history. He won his first title in the 1995 Masters when he was 19 years old. 29 years later, he wins his eighth at the age of 48.
• 15 January
  • Another week of strike action is announced by the ASLEF train drivers union, to run from Tuesday 30 January until Monday 5 February.
  • The Home Office announces that it will proscribe the radical Islamist group Hizb ut-Tahrir as a terrorist organisation, accused of praising the Hamas attacks.
  • A review into investigations conducted by Greater Manchester Police between 2004 and 2019 finds that girls were "left at the mercy" of paedophile grooming gangs for several years because of failings by senior police and council bosses.
  • Alison Phillips confirms she will stand down as editor of the Daily Mirror at the end of January, having been in the role since 2018.
• 16 January
  • Analysis shows that Labour would need a record swing of 12.7% in votes at the next general election to win a majority in the House of Commons.
  • Schools are closed and commuters face disruption following snowfall across parts of the UK.
  • Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith resign their positions as Deputy Chairmen of the Conservative Party, after saying they would back rebel amendments on the Rwanda bill. Jane Stevenson also resigns as a Parliamentary Private Secretary so she can vote for the amendment.
  • British brothers Stewart and Louis Ahearne are sentenced to three and a half years in prison by a court in Switzerland for their part in a 2019 robbery of Ming dynasty art from a museum in Geneva.
  • The Met Office issues a warning for what is expected to be the coldest January night since 2010, with temperatures forecast to fall to at least −15°C.
  • Giving evidence to the inquiry into the Post Office scandal, Paul Patterson, the chief executive of Fujitsu Europe, says the company has a "moral obligation" to contribute to compensation for sub-postmasters wrongly prosecuted as a result of its faulty IT software, and apologises for the impact the scandal had on those affected by it.

Predicted and scheduled events

• 29 January – Reporting on cases in family courts in England and Wales will be extended to a further 16 venues following a trial at three locations.
• 1 February – It will become a criminal offence to own an American XL Bully dog in England and Wales unless the owner has successfully applied for the dog to be exempt.
• 2 February – Two teenagers are scheduled to be sentenced following their conviction for the murder of Brianna Ghey.
• 2 March – The 2024 Brit Awards will take place at London's O2 Arena.
• 6 March – Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is scheduled to deliver the 2024 United Kingdom budget.
• 16 March – Winner of the 2024 Welsh Labour leadership election is scheduled to be announced, with the winner expected to be confirmed in the following days as First Minister of Wales.
• 1 April – The cost of a TV licence will increase by £10.50 from £159 to £169.50.
• 21 April – The 2024 London Marathon is scheduled to take place.
• 2 May – Local elections are scheduled to take place for councils and mayors in England and police and crime commissioners in England and Wales.
• 17 December – Assuming the next general election has not already taken place, the Parliament elected in 2019 must be dissolved, with the next general election taking place no later than 28 January 2025.

Deaths

Main articles: Deaths in 2024 and 2024 deaths in the United Kingdom

Further information: Category:2024 deaths

See also

• Politics in the United Kingdom
• 2020s in United Kingdom political history
• 2024 in United Kingdom politics and government
• 2024 in British music
• 2024 in British television
• 2024 in British radio
• List of British films of 2024