2008 In The United Kingdom
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2008 In The United Kingdom
Events from the year 2008 in the United Kingdom. Incumbents *Monarch – Elizabeth II *Prime Minister – Gordon Brown (Labour) *Parliament – 54th Events January * 10 January – Michael Kirsop is born in Washington. * 17 January – The number of people affected by norovirus stomach bug in the UK reaches an estimated 3 million. * 18 January – Last working of Tower Colliery, the last deep mine in the South Wales Valleys. The official closure is on 25 January. * 24 January – Peter Hain resigns as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions over irregular donations. * 31 January ** Conservative Party MP Derek Conway is suspended from the House of Commons for 10 days over payments made to his son from his parliamentary allowances. ** Four men are jailed for 15 years each for their part in the 2006 Securitas raid, the UK's biggest cash robbery. February * 18 February – Mohammed Al Fayed tells the inquest into the death of Diana, Princess of Wales that she and his son Dodi ...
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Countries Of The United Kingdom
The United Kingdom, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), since 1922, comprises three constituent countries and a region: England, Scotland, and Wales (which collectively make up the region of Great Britain), as well as Northern Ireland, a region in its own right. The UK Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Prime Minister's website has used the phrase "countries within a country" to describe the United Kingdom. Some statistical summaries, such as those for the twelve International Territorial Level, NUTS 1 regions of the United Kingdom, refer to Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales as "regions". With regard to Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales particularly, the descriptive name one uses "can be controversial, with the choice often revealing one's political preferences". Although the United Kingdom is a unitary state, unitary sovereign state, sovereign country, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales have gained a degree of autonomy through the process of ...
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Monarch Of The United Kingdom
The monarchy of the United Kingdom, commonly referred to as the British monarchy, is the constitutional monarchy, constitutional form of government by which a hereditary monarchy, hereditary sovereign reigns as the head of state of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies (the Bailiwick of Guernsey, the Jersey, Bailiwick of Jersey and the Isle of Man) and the British Overseas Territories. The current monarch is King Charles III, who ascended the throne on 8 September 2022, upon Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II. The monarch and British royal family, their immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial, diplomatic and representational duties. As the monarchy is constitutional, the monarch is limited to functions such as bestowing Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, honours and Kissing hands, appointing the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, prime minister, which are performed in a non-partisan ma ...
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Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party and also known colloquially as the Tories, is one of the Two-party system, two main political parties in the United Kingdom, along with the Labour Party (UK), Labour Party. It is the current Government of the United Kingdom, governing party, having won the 2019 United Kingdom general election, 2019 general election. It has been the primary governing party in Britain since 2010. The party is on the Centre-right politics, centre-right of the political spectrum, and encompasses various ideological #Party factions, factions including One-nation conservatism, one-nation conservatives, Thatcherism, Thatcherites, and traditionalist conservatism, traditionalist conservatives. The party currently has 356 Member of Parliament (United Kingdom), Members of Parliament, 264 members of the House of Lords, 9 members of the London Assembly, 31 members of the Scottish Parliament, 16 members of the Senedd, Welsh Parliament, 2 D ...
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Secretary Of State For Work And Pensions
The secretary of state for work and pensions, also referred to as the work and pensions secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the business of the Department for Work and Pensions. The incumbent is a member of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom. The office holder works alongside the other Work and Pensions ministers. The corresponding shadow minister is the shadow secretary of state for work and pensions and the shadow secretary of state for the future of work. The performance of the secretary of state is also scrutinised by the Work and Pensions Select Committee. The office is currently held by Mel Stride. Responsibilities Corresponding to what is generally known as a labour minister in many other countries, the work and pensions secretary's remit includes: * Support people of working age * Oversight of employers and pensions * Fiscal Consolidation * Providing support for disability * Support for fam ...
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Peter Hain
Peter Gerald Hain, Baron Hain (born 16 February 1950), is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland from 2005 to 2007, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2007 to 2008 and twice as Secretary of State for Wales from 2002 to 2008 and from 2009 to 2010. A member of the Labour Party, he was Member of Parliament (MP) for Neath between 1991 and 2015. Born in Kenya Colony to South African parents, Hain came to the United Kingdom from South Africa as a teenager and was a noted anti-fascist and anti-apartheid campaigner in the 1970s, and was convicted of criminal conspiracy for leading direct action events. Elected to Parliament at a 1991 by-election, he initially served in Tony Blair's government as a junior minister in the Wales Office, Foreign Office and Department of Trade and Industry. Promoted to the Cabinet as Welsh Secretary in 2002, he served concurrently as Leader of the House of Commons from 2003 to 2005 and Northern Ireland Sec ...
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Tower Colliery
Tower Colliery ( Welsh: Glofa'r Tŵr) was the oldest continuously working deep-coal mine in the United Kingdom, and possibly the world, until its closure in 2008. It was the last mine of its kind to remain in the South Wales Valleys. It was located near the villages of Hirwaun and Rhigos, north of the town of Aberdare in the Cynon Valley of South Wales. History With coal located so close to the surface, it was known by locals to be possible to drift mine coal from Hirwaun common. This activity increased from 1805, until in 1864 the first drift named Tower was started, named after the nearby Crawshay's Tower, a folly built in 1848 and named after Richard Crawshay. In 1941, a new shaft was sunk to a depth of 160 metres. From 1943 until closure, this shaft was used as the main "return" ventilation shaft and for the transport of men. In 1958 Tower No. 3 was driven to meet the No. 4 colliery workings, and was used as the main "intake" airway, conveying coal to the surface and tr ...
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Norovirus
Norovirus, sometimes referred to as the winter vomiting disease, is the most common cause of gastroenteritis. Infection is characterized by non-bloody diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain. Fever or headaches may also occur. Symptoms usually develop 12 to 48 hours after being exposed, and recovery typically occurs within one to three days. Complications are uncommon, but may include dehydration, especially in the young, the old, and those with other health problems. The virus is usually spread by the fecal–oral route. This may be through contaminated food or water or person-to-person contact. It may also spread via contaminated surfaces or through air from the vomit of an infected person. Risk factors include unsanitary food preparation and sharing close quarters. Diagnosis is generally based on symptoms. Confirmatory testing is not usually available but may be performed by public health agencies during outbreaks. Prevention involves proper hand washing and disinfection of con ...
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Washington, Tyne And Wear
Washington is a town in the City of Sunderland district of Tyne and Wear, England. Historically part of County Durham, it is the ancestral settlement of the Washington family, which George Washington descended from. It is located between Chester-le-Street, Gateshead and Sunderland. Washington was designated a new town in 1964 and became part of the Borough of Sunderland in 1974, the borough became a city in 1992. It has expanded dramatically since its designation, by new villages created and reassignment of areas from Chester-le-Street, to house overspill from surrounding cities. At the 2011 census, Washington had a population of 67,085, compared to 53,388 in 2001. History Disputed name origins Early references appear around 1096 in Old English as Wasindone. The etymological origin is disputed and there are several proposed theories for how the name "Washington" came about. Early interpretations included Wasindone (''people of the hill by the stream'', 1096), or Wassyngtona ...
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List Of MPs Elected In The 2005 United Kingdom General Election
This is a list of Members of Parliament (MPs) elected to the House of Commons at the 2005 general election, held on 5 May. The list is arranged by constituency. New MPs elected since the general election and changes in party allegiance are noted at the bottom of the page. During the 2005–2010 Parliament, Michael Martin and John Bercow served as Speaker of the Commons, Lady Hayman served as Lord Speaker, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown served as Prime Minister, and Michael Howard and David Cameron served as Leader of the Opposition. This Parliament was dissolved on 12 April 2010. Composition of the 2005–2010 UK Parliament These representative diagrams show the composition of the parties in Parliament. The first show the composition immediately after the 2005 general election, and the second shows the composition before the 2010 general election. Note: The Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru sit together as a party group, while Sinn Féin has not taken its seats. This is ...
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Parliament Of The United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and the overseas territories. Parliament is bicameral but has three parts, consisting of the sovereign ( King-in-Parliament), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons (the primary chamber). In theory, power is officially vested in the King-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the prime minister, and the powers of the House of Lords are limited to only delaying legislation; thus power is ''de facto'' vested in the House of Commons. The House of Commons is an elected chamber with elections to 650 single-member constituencies held at least every five years under the first-past-the-post system. By constitutional convention, all governme ...
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Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The Labour Party sits on the centre-left of the political spectrum. In all general elections since 1922, Labour has been either the governing party or the Official Opposition. There have been six Labour prime ministers and thirteen Labour ministries. The party holds the annual Labour Party Conference, at which party policy is formulated. The party was founded in 1900, having grown out of the trade union movement and socialist parties of the 19th century. It overtook the Liberal Party to become the main opposition to the Conservative Party in the early 1920s, forming two minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in the 1920s and early 1930s. Labour served in the wartime coalition of 1940–1945, after which Clement Attlee's Labour government established the National Health Service and expanded the welfa ...
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