Events from 2012 in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Incumbent

Events

January

*3 January – After a trial based on new forensic evidence, two men are convicted of the racist murder of black London teenager

Stephen Lawrence Stephen or Steven is a common English first name. It is particularly significant to Christians, as it belonged to Saint Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ), an early disciple and deacon who, according to the Book of Acts, was stoned to death; h ...

, 18 years after the attack. *23 January – John Anslow, a prisoner charged with murder following a fatal shooting in 2010 escapes from the van transporting him to a court appearance following an armed ambush near

Bromsgrove Bromsgrove is a town in Worcestershire, England, about northeast of Worcester and southwest of Birmingham city centre. It had a population of 29,237 in 2001 (39,644 in the wider Bromsgrove/Catshill urban area). Bromsgrove is the main town in the ...

, Worcestershire. *26 January – The death rate from

heart attacks A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tra ...

in England has halved in the last decade, says an

Oxford University Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

study.

February

*8 February –

football manager

Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career which ...

announces his immediate resignation from the role after four years in charge. *14 February – Thirteen-year-old Casey-Lyanne Kearney stabbed to death in a park in

Doncaster Doncaster (, ) is a city in South Yorkshire, England. Named after the River Don, it is the administrative centre of the larger City of Doncaster. It is the second largest settlement in South Yorkshire after Sheffield. Doncaster is situated in ...

March

*40 people die in car crash.

April

*4 April – As many as 50,000 homes in

northern England Northern England, also known as the North of England, the North Country, or simply the North, is the northern area of England. It broadly corresponds to the former borders of Angle Northumbria, the Anglo-Scandinavian Kingdom of Jorvik, and the ...

are hit by a

power blackout A power outage (also called a powercut, a power out, a power failure, a power blackout, a power loss, or a blackout) is the loss of the electrical power network supply to an end user. There are many causes of power failures in an electricity ...

after heavy winds, snow and ice bring down electricity cables. *6 April – A ban on the display of

tobacco products Tobacco is the agricultural product of the leaves of plants in the genus ''Nicotiana'', commonly termed ''tobacco plants''. All species of ''Nicotiana'' contain the addictive drug nicotine—a psychostimulant alkaloid found in all parts of the ...

by retailers comes into force in England in a bid to reduce the number of young people taking up smoking.

May

* 3 May –

Local elections In many parts of the world, local elections take place to select office-holders in local government, such as mayors and councillors. Elections to positions within a city or town are often known as "municipal elections". Their form and conduct vary ...

held in England. * 4 May **Local elections result in Labour making gains and winning the largest number of councillors in contested seats in England. **

Boris Johnson Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson (; born 19 June 1964) is a British politician, writer and journalist who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party from 2019 to 2022. He previously served as F ...

is re-elected as

Mayor of London The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the 1998 Greater London Authority referendum, Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first Directly elected may ...

with 51.5% of the vote.

Ken Livingston Kenneth Robert Livingstone (born 17 June 1945) is an English politician who served as the Leader of the Greater London Council (GLC) from 1981 until the council was abolished in 1986, and as Mayor of London from the creation of the office ...

subsequently says it would be his "last election". In the

London Assembly The London Assembly is a 25-member elected body, part of the Greater London Authority, that scrutinises the activities of the Mayor of London and has the power, with a two-thirds super-majority, to amend the Mayor's annual budget and to reject ...

, Labour becomes the party with the greatest number of seats, with minor losses for the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats. The British National Party loses their only seat. Of 25 seats, the final tally stands at: Labour 12, Conservatives 9, Liberal Democrats 2, Green 2. * 11 May – Five children die in the Allenton house fire, a sixth later dies in hospital. The parents of the children are later charged with their murders.

June

*24 June –

lose by a

penalty shoot-out The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

in the

Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...

tournament, with former

West Ham West Ham is an area in East London, located east of Charing Cross in the west of the modern London Borough of Newham. The area, which lies immediately to the north of the River Thames and east of the River Lea, was originally an ancien ...

player

Alessandro Diamanti Alessandro Diamanti (; born 2 May 1983) is an Italian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for A-League club Western United. At club level, he has previously played for Prato, Empoli, Fucecchio, Fiorentina, AlbinoLeffe, West Ham Uni ...

converting from the spot at the

Olimpiyskiy National Sports Complex The Olympic National Sports Complex (also known as Olympic Stadium; uk, Національний спортивний комплекс "Олімпійський", translit=Natsionalnyi sportyvnyi kompleks "Olimpiiskyi") is a multi-use sports ...

Kyiv Kyiv, also spelled Kiev, is the capital and most populous city of Ukraine. It is in north-central Ukraine along the Dnieper, Dnieper River. As of 1 January 2021, its population was 2,962,180, making Kyiv the List of European cities by populat ...

to take

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

through to the semi-final against

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

July

*5 July –

The Shard The Shard, also referred to as the Shard of Glass, Shard London Bridge, and formerly London Bridge Tower, is a 72-storey skyscraper, designed by the Italian architect Renzo Piano, in Southwark, London, that forms part of The Shard Quarter dev ...

, the tallest building in Europe and the tallest habitable free-standing structure in the UK at 309.6 metres (1,016 ft), is officially opened. * 27 July – London hosts the

2012 Summer Olympics The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

, beginning with an

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

, and making it the first city to host the Games for a third time. The

closing ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

is on 12 August.

Deaths

* 4 February – Florence Green, supercentenarian and last-surviving World War I service veteran (b. 1901) * 5 February –

Ray Honeyford Raymond Honeyford (24 February 1934, in Manchester – 5 February 2012) was a British head teacher, writer, and critic of the failures of multiculturalism. In the early 1980s, when he was headmaster of Drummond Middle School in Bradford, Yorkshi ...

, 77, headmaster and writer (b. 1934)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2012 in England *England Years of the 21st century in England 2010s in England