1995 in the United Kingdom

UK related events during the year of 1995

Events from the year 1995 in the United Kingdom.

9 March – Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh visit Northern Ireland for the first time since the IRA and Loyalist ceasefire which came into force last year. 20 March – The Queen arrives in Cape Town for the first royal visit to South Africa in nearly fifty years. 23 March – Eric Cantona is sentenced to fourteen days imprisonment at Croydon Crown Court for his assault on a Crystal Palace fan two months ago. He remains free on bail pending an appeal against his sentence, but if this is unsuccessful he will be the first footballer to be jailed in Britain for an on field offence. 39 year old former Scotland winger Davie Cooper dies aged 39 after suffering a brain haemorrhage. 31 March – Eric Cantona wins his appeal against his prison sentence, which is reduced to a 120 hour community service order.

1 April – South Korean carmaker Daewoo begins selling cars in the United Kingdom. It offers a two model range, the Nexia and Espero, updated versions of the previous generation Vauxhall Astra and Vauxhall Cavalier. 8 April – British born American national Nicholas Ingram, 31, is executed in Georgia for a murder committed in 1983. 16 April – PhONEday changes all telephone area dialing codes UK wide.

4 May – The Conservative government's fortunes continue to decline as the local council elections see them in control of a mere eight councils, while Labour control 155 councils and the Liberal Democrats control 45. The Conservatives now have control of no councils in Wales or Scotland. 8 May – The fiftieth anniversary of VE Day is celebrated across Britain. 14 May – Blackburn Rovers become FA Premier League champions, earning them their first top division league title since 1914. 19 May – Geoffrey Dickens, the Conservative MP for Littleborough and Saddleworth, dies in office aged 63. 20 May – Everton win the FA Cup with a 1–0 win over Manchester United at Wembley Stadium. 21 May – United Kingdom BSE outbreak: First known death from variant Creutzfeldt–Jakob disease, that of a 19 year old man; not until 20 March 1996 does the Secretary of State for Health announce that vCJD is caused by eating beef infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy. 24 May – Former Prime Minister Harold Wilson dies of cancer in London, aged 79. 25 May – Roseanna Cunningham wins the Perth by election for the Scottish National Party, three months after the seat became vacant upon the death of the Conservative MP Sir Nicholas Fairbairn. The Conservative majority has now fallen from 21 seats to 11, in the space of three years since the last general election.

9 June – Andrew Richards, a 26 year old serial sex offender of West Glamorgan, becomes the first person to be convicted of male rape under the Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994. 14 June – Pauline Clare is appointed as Chief Constable of Lancashire Constabulary, becoming the first woman to hold the office of Chief Constable. 20 June – Arsenal pay a British record fee of £7.5million for Inter Milan and Holland striker Dennis Bergkamp. 22 June – In an attempt to reassert his authority, John Major resigns as leader of the Conservative Party (but not as Prime Minister) triggering a leadership election. 28 June–22 August – 1995 Great Britain and Ireland heat wave: The driest summer in recorded English meteorological history, with an average EWP series of only , and also the third hottest with an average Central England temperature of 17.40 °C (63 °F).

3 August – 30 year old Colwyn Bay man Howard Hughes is charged with the murder of Sophie Hook, and remanded in custody. 6 August – Pubs in England are permitted to remain open throughout Sunday afternoon for the first time. 16 August – Unemployment is now at 2,315,300 – one of the lowest figures recorded in the last four years. 20 August – BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir London, Europe's first traditional style purpose built Hindu temple (and England's largest), is inaugurated in Neasden. 26 August – Middlesbrough F. C. move into their new 30,000 seat Riverside Stadium, to replace Ayresome Park which had been their home since 1903. Their new stadium is the largest club stadium to be built in England since the 1920s.

2 December – "Rogue trader" Nick Leeson is jailed for six and a half years in Singapore on a double fraud charge relating to the recent financial collapse of Barings Bank. 8 December – Head teacher Philip Lawrence dies after being stabbed at the entrance of his school in Maida Vale, North London, where he was defending a pupil from a local teenage gang. 10 December – Joseph Rotblat wins the Nobel Peace Prize. 13 December – A riot takes place in Brixton, London. 20 December – The Queen writes to the Prince and Princess of Wales (Charles and Diana) three years after their separation, urging them to divorce as soon as possible. 29 December – The Conservative majority now stands at a mere five seats following the defection of MP Emma Nicholson to the Liberal Democrats. 30 December – Altnaharra in the Scottish Highlands matches the lowest temperature UK Weather Record at −27.2 °C (−17.0 °F).

Contingent fee litigation permitted in the Courts of England and Wales. 1% of the UK population (some 600,000 people) now have internet access. AMCO Burglar Alarm Company is founded.

Martin Amis's novel The Information. Iain Banks' novel Whit. Pat Barker's novel The Ghost Road. Nick Hornby's novel High Fidelity. Terry Pratchett's Discworld novel Maskerade. Philip Pullman's novel Northern Lights, first in the His Dark Materials trilogy. Delia Smith's cookery Winter Collection. Barry Unsworth's novel Morality Play.