A ban on the purchasing of fax machines by the NHS in England, as part of a government plan to phase them out entirely by March 2020 commences.[1]
A new energy price cap has now come into effect for households in England, Scotland and Wales. Ofgem, the energy supply regulator, has estimated that it would save 11 million people an average of £76 a year if they stay on the same tariff.[2] Data from the regulator also shows that the cap could lead to households being more than £200 per year worse off because of the reduction in the number of customers shopping around because of the cap.[3]
2 January – Missed GP appointments 'cost NHS England £216m'.[4]
4 January – The engineering arm of collapsed Monarch Airlines falls into administration, with the loss of 450 jobs.[5]
7 January – a 10-year plan for England's National Health Service is unveiled by NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens and prime minister Teresa May.[6]
17 January – The 97-year-old Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip is involved in a car crash while driving near the Queen's Sandringham estate. He is unhurt, "but very, very shocked and shaken".[7]
22 January – The UK café chain Patisserie Valerie collapses into administration after rescue talks with banks fail.[8]
29 January – Labour MP for PeterboroughFiona Onasanya is sentenced to three months imprisonment having earlier been found guilty of perverting the course of justice for lying about who was driving her car when caught speeding. Her imprisonment makes her the first sitting MP to be jailed in 28 years.[9]
February
5 February – HMV has been acquired out of administration by Canadian retailer Sunrise Records, safeguarding the future of nearly 1,500 staff.[10]
7 February
The Office for National Statistics reports that knife crime in England and Wales is at its highest level since records began in 1946, with the number of fatal stabbings the previous year being the most ever reported.[11]
A body is recovered from the wreckage of the PA-46 Malibu which vanished over the English Channel on 21 January. Dorset Police later identify it as that of Emiliano Sala.[13]
13 February – Ford reveals it is preparing to move its car engine production out of Britain, as a result of Brexit disruption, putting thousands of jobs at risk.[14]
22 February – Dudley North MP Ian Austin resigns from the Labour Party and claims the party has failure to tackle antisemitism, but says he has no plans to join the Independent Group.[20]
23 February
Health SecretaryMatt Hancock tells the NHS to stop using pagers for communications, calling them "outdated" and stating his wish to get rid of "archaic technology like pagers and fax machines" within the NHS by 2021.[21]
6 March – Following what she characterised as a spate of knife murders involving young people around England, the chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, Sara Thornton, calls for the situation to be treated as a national emergency.[23]
19 March – The head of the Environment Agency, Sir James Bevan warned that England will not have enough water to meet demand within 25 years and the impact of climate change, combined with population growth, means the country is facing an "existential threat" at the Waterwise Conference.[24]
April
2 April – The Tulip, a new 305-metre (1,000 ft) skyscraper in the City of London, featuring an observation platform with rotating pods, is granted planning approval.[25]
3 April – Prosecutors seek a retrial in the case of Hillsborough match commander David Duckenfield, after a jury fails to reach a verdict.[26]
4 April – A water leak shortly before 3pm suspends proceedings in the House of Commons for the rest of the day.[27]
15–22 April – Demonstrations by the climate change activist group Extinction Rebellion cause disruption in central London, blocking roads and resulting in over 1,000 arrests, with 53 people charged for various offences.[35][36][37] A "pause" in the protest is announced on 21 April,[38] although the group continues to base itself in Marble Arch.[39]
17 April – The UK Government announces it will introduce an age verification system designed to stop internet users under the age of eighteen from viewing pornographic websites, which will come into force on 15 July.[40]
18 April – 29-year-old journalist and author Lyra McKee is shot dead amid rioting in Derry, Northern Ireland, with police treating it as a "terrorist incident" and suspecting the New IRA.[41][42]
22 April
Leaders from 70 local Conservative Associations sign a petition calling for a vote of no confidence in Theresa May. The non-binding vote, to be determined by 800 of the party's senior officials, would be the first time such an instance has occurred.[43]
The hottest Easter Monday on record in all four nations of the UK is confirmed by the Met Office, with 25 °C (77 °F) reported at Heathrow, Northolt and Wisley.[44]
23 April – Buckingham Palace confirms that US President Donald Trump will make a three-day state visit to the UK from 3 to 5 June. President Trump previously visited the UK from 12 to 15 July 2018, amid major protests.[45]
24 April – The Conservative Party's 1922 Committee votes against changing the party's rules regarding leadership challenges, but asks for clarity on when Prime Minister Theresa May will step down from office.[46]
25 April –
The government announces it will launch a formal inquiry into the leaking of discussions about Chinese telecommunications firm Huawei at the National Security Council after The Daily Telegraph published details of a meeting concerning plans to use the firm to help build the 5G network.[47]
Prime Minister Theresa May and Irish TaoiseachLeo Varadkar issue a joint statement setting out a new process of talks designed to restore devolution to Northern Ireland, and to begin on 7 May.[49]
Department store Debenhams announces plans to close 22 branches in 2019.[50]
Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn declines an invitation to attend a state banquet at Buckingham Palace to honour US President Donald Trump during his state visit in June.[51]
May
1 May
WikiLeaks co-founder Julian Assange is sentenced to 50 weeks in jail for breaching bail conditions.[52]
Peterborough Member of Parliament Fiona Onasanya becomes the first MP to be removed by a recall petition after 19,261 of her constituents voted for her to be removed from office. Onasanya's recall petition had been automatically triggered as a result of her conviction for perverting the course of justice, an offence for which she was imprisoned in January.[53][54]
2 May – 2019 United Kingdom local elections: The Lib Dems, Greens and independents make gains in the local elections at the expense of the Conservatives, while Labour and UKIP also suffer losses.[56]
4 May – The Metropolitan Police says that the National Security Council leak about Huawei "did not amount to a criminal offence".[57]
13 May – The Jeremy Kyle Show is suspended indefinitely following the death of a participant, shortly after appearing on an unbroadcast programme.[63] The show is axed by ITV two days later.[64]
16 May
Following information provided by police, the Bishop of Lincoln, Christopher Lowson, is suspended from office by the Archbishop of Canterbury.[65]
Boris Johnson confirms that he will run for the Conservative Party leadership after Theresa May stands down.[66]
17 May
Brexit talks between Labour and the Conservatives end without agreement, following six weeks of cross-party debate, with Jeremy Corbyn saying negotiations have "gone as far as they can".[67]
Jamie Oliver's restaurant group collapses into administration, putting 1,300 jobs at risk.[71]
22 May
The government announces it will introduce new controls on single use plastic products in England from April 2020.[72]
British Steel enters insolvency, putting 5,000 UK jobs directly at risk and a further 20,000 in the supply chain, following a breakdown in rescue talks between the government and the company's owner, Greybull.[73]
Alastair Campbell, the former communications chief to Tony Blair, is expelled from the Labour Party, after publicly stating that he voted for the Liberal Democrats during the European Parliamentary elections.[77][78]
The Speaker, John Bercow announces that he plans to possibly stay on as Speaker of the House until 2022, saying it is not "sensible to vacate the chair" while there are major issues before parliament.[79]
June
1 June – A ban on letting agent fees comes into effect.[80]
6 June – Peterborough by election: Labour retains the seat, with the Brexit Party finishing second, and the Conservatives in third place.[81] The by-election was held because of the previous Labour MP having been removed as the result of a recall petition.[81]
8 June – Tory leadership candidate Michael Gove says he "deeply regrets" taking cocaine at several "social events" more than 20 years previously.[83]
10 June – The BBC announces it will stop free television licences, for over-75s who do not get pension credit, from June 2020. It follows a consultation with 190,000 people, of whom 52% were in favour of reforming or abolishing free licences.[84]
13 October – The nineteenth-century English cardinal John Henry Newman is canonised by the Pope, the first new English saint in more than 50 years.[89]
^Lawson-Cruttenden, Sally (6 June 2019). "Cruttenden – Arthur Roy". Telegraph Announcements. Archived from the original on 7 June 2019. Retrieved 9 June 2019.