1981 in the United Kingdom

Years in the United Kingdom:	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984
Centuries:	19th century · 20th century · 21st century
Decades:	1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s
Years:	1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984

1981 in the United Kingdom:
British and Irish current events
Sport and Music
1981 British Grand Prix
1981 English cricket season
Football England \| 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
- 2.1 Undated
3 Publications
4 Births
5 Deaths
6 References
7 See also

Incumbents

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

Events

5 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]
9 January - 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.
16 January - 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]
18 January - New Cross Fire: 18 young black people are killed in an arson attack on a house in New Cross, London.^[3]
25 January - 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]
6 February - The Liverpool-registered coal ship Nellie M is bombed and sunk by an IRA unit driving a hijacked pilot boat in Lough Foyle.
18 February - Thatcher government withdraws plans to close down 23 mines after negotiations with National Union of Mineworkers.^[5]
24 February - The Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer announce their engagement.^[6]
9 March - 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]
23 March - 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]
24 March - Barbados police rescue Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs after being kidnapped in Brazil.^[9]
26 March - Social Democratic Party formed by the so-called "Gang of Four": Shirley Williams, William Rodgers, Roy Jenkins, and David Owen.^[10]
29 March - The first London Marathon is held.^[11]
4 April - Bucks Fizz was the winner of Eurovision Song Contest with the song, Making Your Mind Up.
10 April - 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]
11 April - Brixton riot.^[13]
20 April - Snooker player Steve Davis wins the World Snooker Championship 1981.^[1]
5 May - Bobby Sands, a 27-year-old republican, dies in Northern Ireland's Maze Prison after a 66-day hunger strike.^[1]
7 May - Ken Livingstone becomes leader of the GLC after Labour wins the GLC elections.^[14]
11 May - First performance of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats at the New London Theatre.^[1]
19 May - 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 after the trial judge rejects his plea of manslaughter on the grounds of diminished responsibility.
3 June - Shergar wins the Epsom Derby.^[1]
13 June - The Queen is shot at by a youth, Marcus Sarjeant, who fired six blank cartridges as the Queen entered Horse Guards Parade.^[15]
21 June - a fire at Goodge Street tube station kills one person and injures 16.^[1]
16 June - Liberal Party and SDP form an electoral pact.^[14]
5 July - Toxteth riots: about 80 police injured in two days of rioting, and first use was made of CS gas by British police.^[16]
17 July - The official opening of the Humber Bridge by the Queen.^[1]
27 July - British Telecommunications Act separates British Telecom from the Royal Mail.^[14]
29 July - The marriage of the Prince of Wales and Lady Diana Spencer takes place at St Paul's Cathedral.^[17]
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.
9 August - 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.
17 September - a team of divers begin removing gold ingots worth £40 million from the wreck of the HMS Edinburgh, sunk off the coast of Norway ion 1942.^[1]
3 October - end of hunger strikes at the Maze prison.^[18]
10 October - Chelsea Barracks bombed by the IRA, killing two people.^[14]
24 October - CND anti-nuclear march in London attracts over 250,000 people.^[19]
30 October - Nicholas Reed, chief of the Euthanasia charity Exit jailed for two-and-a-half years for aiding and abetting suicides.^[20]
16 November - Production of the Vauxhall Astra commences in Britain at the Ellesmere Port plant in Cheshire. The Astra was launched two years ago but until now had been produced solely at the Opel plant in West Germany.
25 November - 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.
8 December - Arthur Scargill becomes leader of the National Union of Mineworkers.^[1]
20 December - 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.^[21]