Events from the year
2023
Events
Predicted and scheduled events
* January 1
** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law.
** Croatia will adopt the eu ...
in the
United Kingdom.
Incumbents
*
Monarch –
Charles III
*
Prime Minister –
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
(
Conservative)
*
Parliament –
58th
Events
January
* 1 January – A visit by
Thor the Walrus to
Scarborough harbour,
North Yorkshire overnight on
New Years Eve results in the town's New Year fireworks celebrations being cancelled to let the walrus rest for his journey to the
Arctic.
He was previously spotted at
Pagham Harbour,
Calshot,
Hampshire in December 2022.
* 2 January
** Three people are killed after
a fire breaks out at the New County Hotel in
Perth, Scotland.
**
Thor the Walrus makes an appearance in
Blyth, Northumberland.
* 3 January – 40,000 railway workers who are members of the
RMT union hold the first of two 48-hour
strikes
Strike may refer to:
People
*Strike (surname)
Physical confrontation or removal
*Strike (attack), attack with an inanimate object or a part of the human body intended to cause harm
*Airstrike, military strike by air forces on either a suspected ...
this week, severely disrupting train services in England, Scotland, and Wales.
* 5 January
** The government confirms it will not go ahead with a plan to privatise
Channel 4.
** The
Met Office
The Meteorological Office, abbreviated as the Met Office, is the United Kingdom's national weather service. It is an executive agency and trading fund of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and is led by CEO Penelope E ...
confirms that 2022 was the UK's warmest year since records began in 1884, with an average annual temperature above for the first time.
**
BioNTech announces a strategic partnership with the UK government to provide up to 10,000 patients with personalised
mRNA cancer immunotherapies by 2030.
* 6 January –
COVID-19 in the UK
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
: Almost three million people were infected with COVID-19 over the Christmas period (the highest since July 2022), the latest
Office for National Statistics data suggests, with one in 20 having the virus in England, one in 18 in Wales, one in 25 in Scotland and one in 16 in Northern Ireland.
XBB.1.5
Omicron (B.1.1.529) is a variant of SARS-CoV-2 first reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by the Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa on 24 November 2021. It was first detected in Botswana and has spread to become the p ...
, the new
Omicron variant of the virus, is believed to be responsible for one in 200 infections in the UK.
* 8 January –
ITV1 broadcasts a
95-minute interview with
Prince Harry ahead of the release of his memoirs, ''
Spare''.
* 10 January
** The UK government publishes the
Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill 2023, designed to require public sector organisations to provide a minimum service when their unions vote to strike.
**
Prince Harry's controversial
memoir ''
Spare'' is released, becoming "the fastest selling
non-fiction book of all time" on the date of its release.
*11 January –
Andrew Bridgen has the whip suspended by the Conservative Party after he spread misinformation about
COVID-19 and compared
vaccination to
the Holocaust.
* 12 January – Heavy rain and strong winds cause floods and travel disruption in parts of the UK, with over 60 flood warnings issued in England, 19 in Wales and 2 in Scotland.
* 13 January
** Figures indicate the
UK economy unexpectedly grew by 0.1% in November 2022, potentially avoiding a long recession.
** Medical experts criticise the
BBC for an interview with
Aseem Malhotra who claims that
mRNA vaccines may have been responsible for thousands of excess deaths.
**
Manchester City
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The tw ...
footballer
Benjamin Mendy
Benjamin Mendy (born 17 July 1994) is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for club Manchester City. He played for the France national team from 2017 until 2019.
After coming through Le Havre's youth academy, Mendy began ...
is cleared on six counts of rape and one count of sexual assault against four young women, but faces a retrial on two counts the jury could not reach verdicts on.
**
COVID-19 in the UK
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
: The latest Office for National Statistics data indicates COVID-19 cases were falling in England and Wales in the week up to 30 December 2022, with cases continuing to increase in Scotland; the picture was unclear for Northern Ireland. In England, an estimated 2,189,300 people were thought to have tested positive for COVID-19.
* 14 January
** Four women and two children
are injured in a
drive-by mass shooting close to a
Catholic church in
Euston Road
Euston Road is a road in Central London that runs from Marylebone Road to King's Cross. The route is part of the London Inner Ring Road and forms part of the London congestion charge zone boundary. It is named after Euston Hall, the family ...
, Euston,
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local government. Its characteris ...
. A 22-year-old man is arrested two days later on suspicion of
attempted murder
Attempted murder is a crime of attempt in various jurisdictions.
Canada
Section 239 of the ''Criminal Code'' makes attempted murder punishable by a maximum of life imprisonment. If a gun is used, the minimum sentence is four, five or seven ye ...
.
** Amid recent heavy rain, more than 100 flood warnings by the
Environment Agency
The Environment Agency (EA) is a non-departmental public body, established in 1996 and sponsored by the United Kingdom government's Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, with responsibilities relating to the protection and enha ...
remain in place across the country, with hundreds of homes damaged and many left without power.
** Rishi Sunak confirms that the UK will send 14
Challenger 2 tanks to
Ukraine to boost its
war effort.
* 16 January
**Serving
Metropolitan Police
The Metropolitan Police Service (MPS), formerly and still commonly known as the Metropolitan Police (and informally as the Met Police, the Met, Scotland Yard, or the Yard), is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement and ...
officer
David Carrick admits over 40 offences including
more than 20 rapes against 12 women over two decades.
**The
National Education Union announces that teachers in England and Wales will strike on seven dates during February and March after members voted in favour of strike action. National strikes will be held on 1 and 15 February, and 15 March, as well as four days of regional strikes.
**The
UK government announces it will block the
Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill
The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill is a bill passed by the Scottish Parliament. The bill seeks to amend the Gender Recognition Act 2004 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, making it simpler for people to change their legal gen ...
, the first time that the UK government has used powers to block a Scottish law. UK ministers say the draft law would "conflict with equality protections applying across Great Britain".
**The
Royal College of Nursing announces a further two nurses' strikes for 6 and 7 February, described as the biggest so far.
**MPs vote 309–249 in favour of the
Strikes (Minimum Service Levels) Bill 2023, which now moves to the
committee stage
In the United Kingdom an act of Parliament is primary legislation passed by the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
An act of Parliament can be enforced in all four of the UK constituent countries (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Irelan ...
.
* 18 January
**The ONS reports that inflation dropped for the second month running, to 10.5% in December, from 10.7% the previous month. At the two extremes of the ONS's list of "notable movements" that contribute to the overall figure, 'clothing and footwear' price inflation dropped from 7.5% to 6.4%, 'furniture and household goods' dropped from 10.8% to 9.8%, 'food and non-alcoholic beverages' rose from 16.5% to 16.9%, and 'restaurants and hotels' rose from 10.2% to 11.4%.
**
BBC News reports that
Church of England bishops will not give their backing to a change in teaching that would allow them to marry same-sex couples, but the Church will offer "prayers of dedication, thanksgiving or God's blessing" to gay couples.
* 19 January – Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
apologises for
taking his seat belt off in a moving car to film a social media clip.
Lancashire Police
Lancashire Constabulary is the territorial police force responsible for policing the ceremonial county of Lancashire in North West England. The force's headquarters are at Hutton, near the city of Preston. , the force has 3,088 police offic ...
later say they are "looking into" the incident. He is issued with a
fixed-penalty notice the following day.
* 20 January
**The Church of England issues an apology for the "shameful" times it has "rejected or excluded"
LGBTQ+ people, while
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
Justin Welby says he supports the changes that allow blessings to be offered to gay couples, but says he will not personally use them because he has a "responsibility to the whole communion".
**The
High Court awards £39m in damages against
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust
Frimley Health NHS Foundation Trust is an NHS Foundation Trust created on 1 October 2014 by the acquisition of Heatherwood and Wexham Park Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust by Frimley Park Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. This was the first ever take ...
in Surrey to a girl whose limbs were amputated after she was wrongly diagnosed.
**
COVID-19 in the UK
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...
: ONS data for the week up to 10 January indicates that COVID-19 infections have continued to fall in England and Wales, with one in 40 people (an estimated 2.6% of the population) testing positive for the virus.
* 22 January – Labour's chairwoman,
Anneliese Dodds writes to
Daniel Greenberg, the
Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards
The Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards is an officer of the British House of Commons. The work of the officer is overseen by the Commons Select Committee on Standards.
The current commissioner is Kathryn Stone.
Duties
The commissioner is i ...
, requesting "an urgent investigation" into claims that
Richard Sharp, the
Chairman of the BBC, helped former Prime Minister
Boris Johnson secure a loan guarantee weeks before Johnson recommended him for the BBC chairmanship.
* 23 January
**Prime Minister
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak (; born 12 May 1980) is a British politician who has served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Conservative Party (UK), Leader of the Conservative Party since October 2022. He previously held two Cabinet of ...
asks his
Independent Adviser on Ministers' Interests to investigate allegations that, during his time as
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
,
Conservative Party Chairman Nadhim Zahawi paid a penalty to
HM Revenue and Customs in relation to previously unpaid tax.
**
William Shawcross, the
Commissioner for Public Appointments, begins a review into the process of hiring
Chairman of the BBC Richard Sharp following allegations he helped then-PM
Boris Johnson secure a loan guarantee shortly before his appointment. Johnson dismisses the claims, saying Sharp had no knowledge of his finances. Sharp says that although he contacted
Cabinet Secretary Simon Case
Simon Case (born 27 December 1978) is a British civil servant who is the current Cabinet Secretary and Head of the Home Civil Service since 9 September 2020, succeeding Sir Mark Sedwill.
Case was Downing Street Permanent Secretary to Prime M ...
in December 2020 about the offer of a loan to Johnson, he was not involved in discussions.
**
National Grid's
Demand Flexibility Service begins in an attempt to avoid a power blackout. Between 5:00pm and 6:00pm, people in England, Scotland and Wales who have signed up to the scheme are asked to use less electricity, and will be paid by their energy companies for doing so.
* 25 January – The first ever strike by UK employees of
Amazon is held. 300 staff at a Coventry warehouse stage a one-day walk out, in a dispute over pay and conditions.
* 26 January –
Nicola Sturgeon
Nicola Ferguson Sturgeon (born 19 July 1970) is a Scottish politician serving as First Minister of Scotland and Leader of the Scottish National Party (SNP) since 2014. She is the first woman to hold either position. She has been a member of ...
confirms that
Isla Bryson
In January 2023, Isla Bryson, a 31-year-old Scottish transgender woman from Clydebank, Dunbartonshire, was convicted of the rapes of two women. The rapes occurred in 2016 and 2019, prior to Bryson's gender transition. Bryson was charged in 2019 ...
, a
trans woman recently convicted of raping two women before her transition, has been moved from
Cornton Vale
Cornton Vale is a women's prison in Stirling, operated by the Scottish Prison Service. Built in 1975, Cornton Vale comprises a total of 217 cells in its 5 houses. It accepted solely convicted women and girls from 1975 until 1978. In 1978 Parliam ...
women’s prison to
HMP Edinburgh men’s prison, sparking debate about the
Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill
The Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill is a bill passed by the Scottish Parliament. The bill seeks to amend the Gender Recognition Act 2004 of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, making it simpler for people to change their legal gen ...
.
* 28 January
**Airline
Flybe
Flybe (pronounced ), styled as flybe, is a British airline based at Birmingham Airport, England.
History
The airline traces its history back to Jersey European Airways, which was set up in 1979 following the merger of Intra Airways and Expres ...
cancels all flights to and from the UK after going into administration.
**
Charity Super.Mkt, billed as the UK's first multi-charity store and selling items supplied by ten charities, opens at London's
Brent Cross Shopping Centre.
* 29 January
**Conservative Party Chairman
Nadhim Zahawi is sacked by Rishi Sunak over "a serious breach of the Ministerial Code" relating to the investigation into his tax affairs, conducted on 23 January.
**The
Scottish Prison Service pauses the movement of all transgender prisoners while it carries out an "urgent review" into the transgender cases held in its custody.
* 30 January
**William Shawcross, the commissioner for public appointments, steps back from the planned investigation into how Richard Sharp got the job as BBC chairman because of previous contact between them. Another investigator will be appointed to take on the inquiry.
**Members of the
Fire Brigades Union have voted to take strike action over pay.
Predicted and scheduled events
* 9 February –
2023 West Lancashire by-election
A by-election for the United Kingdom parliamentary constituency of West Lancashire is due on 9 February 2023, following the resignation of incumbent member of Parliament Rosie Cooper. She announced her resignation in order to take up the job a ...
* 15 March –
Chancellor of the Exchequer
The chancellor of the Exchequer, often abbreviated to chancellor, is a senior minister of the Crown within the Government of the United Kingdom, and head of His Majesty's Treasury. As one of the four Great Offices of State, the Chancellor is ...
Jeremy Hunt is scheduled to deliver the
2023 budget to the
House of Commons.
* 4 May –
2023 United Kingdom local elections
3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...
* 6 May –
Coronation of Charles III and Camilla
The coronation of Charles III and his wife, Camilla, as King and Queen of the United Kingdom and the other Commonwealth realms will take place on Saturday, 6 May 2023, at Westminster Abbey. King Charles III acceded to the throne on 8 Septembe ...
in
Westminster Abbey,
London.
* 13 May –
Eurovision Song Contest 2023 at the
Liverpool Arena
Liverpool Arena, known for sponsorship reasons as the M&S Bank Arena, and previously Echo Arena, is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the city centre of Liverpool, England. The venue hosts live music, comedy performances and sporting events, and ...
* 18 May –
2023 Northern Ireland local elections
Local elections are scheduled to be held in Northern Ireland on 18 May 2023, 2 weeks after other elections across the United Kingdom. The last local elections in Northern Ireland were held in 2019.
The elections were delayed by 2 weeks to avo ...
* 20 July –
2023 FIFA Women's World Cup
The 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup is scheduled to be the ninth edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup competition, the quadrennial international women's football championship contested by the women's national association football teams organised ...
in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
and
New Zealand.
England are to compete.
* 8 September –
2023 Rugby World Cup
The 2023 Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It is scheduled to take place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the cou ...
in
France.
England,
Wales and
Scotland are to compete.
* October –
2023 Cricket World Cup
The 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup will be the 13th edition of the Cricket World Cup, a quadrennial One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament contested by men's national teams and organized by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It is sch ...
in
India.
England are to compete.
Deaths
The following
notable deaths of
British people occurred in 2023. Names are reported under the date of death, in alphabetical order. A typical entry reports information in the following sequence:
* Name, age, citizenship at birth, nationality (in addition to British), or/and home nation, what subject was noted for, birth year, cause of death (if known), and reference.
January
*
1 January –
Frank McGarvey
Francis Peter McGarvey (17 March 1956 – 1 January 2023) was a Scottish professional footballer who played as a forward, mostly for Celtic and St Mirren. He also played seven times in international matches for Scotland.
Career
McGarvey was ...
, Scottish footballer (
St Mirren,
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
* Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Fo ...
,
national team) (b. 1956),
pancreatic cancer
Pancreatic cancer arises when cell (biology), cells in the pancreas, a glandular organ behind the stomach, begin to multiply out of control and form a Neoplasm, mass. These cancerous cells have the malignant, ability to invade other parts of t ...
.
* 2 January –
Andrew Downes, 72, English classical composer.
* 3 January
**
Roger Kean, British magazine publisher (''
Crash'', ''
Zzap!64''), co-founder of
Newsfield.
**
Alan Rankine
Alan Rankine (17 May 1958 – 3 January 2023) was a Scottish musician and record producer best known as keyboardist and guitarist for rock band the Associates, which he co-founded with lead vocalist Billy Mackenzie in the late 1970s.
Early l ...
, 64, Scottish musician (
The Associates) (b. 1958) (death announced on this date)
* 4 January –
Wyllie Longmore, 82, Jamanican-born British actor (''
Coronation Street
''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford.
Origi ...
'', ''
Love Actually''), cancer.
* 5 January
**
Thomas Stonor, 7th Baron Camoys, 82, British banker and peer,
lord chamberlain (1998–2000).
**
David Gold, 86, British retailer, publisher (
Gold Star Publications
Gold Star Publications was a British magazine publisher co-owned by David Gold with his brother Ralph. It included printing and distribution businesses, and a stable of titles including '' Rustler'' and ''Raider''.
The business was formed in 197 ...
), and football executive, chairman of
West Ham United (since 2010).
**
Fay Weldon, 91, British author (''
The Life and Loves of a She-Devil'', ''
Puffball'', ''
The Cloning of Joanna May
''The Cloning of Joanna May'' is a 1989 science fiction novel by Fay Weldon.
Plot introduction
Joanna May was once married to Carl May, the wealthy chief executive officer, CEO of a Nuclear power, nuclear energy corporation, but they have been ...
''), essayist and playwright.
* 7 January –
Ken Scotland
Kenneth James Forbes Scotland (29 August 1936 – 7 January 2023) was a Scotland international rugby union player and a Scotland international cricket player. He played at full-back in rugby union.Bath, p157
Rugby Union career
Amateur career
...
, 86, Scottish rugby union player (
Leicester Tigers
Leicester Tigers (officially Leicester Football Club) are a professional rugby union club based in Leicester, England. They play in Premiership Rugby, England's top division of rugby.
The club was founded in 1880 and since 1892 plays its hom ...
,
national team) and cricketer (
national team), cancer.
* 8 January –
Ray Middleton, 86, British Olympic racewalker (
1964
Events January
* January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved.
* January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarch ...
), respiratory failure.
* 9 January –
David Duckham
David John Duckham MBE (28 June 1946 – 9 January 2023) was an English rugby union player. He played 36 games for England (scoring 10 tries), in three tests on the 1971 British Lions tour to New Zealand and for Barbarians F.C. in their 1973 ...
, 76, English rugby union player (
Coventry,
national team).
* 10 January –
Jeff Beck
Geoffrey Arnold Beck (born 24 June 1944) is an English rock guitarist. He rose to prominence with the Yardbirds and after fronted the Jeff Beck Group and Beck, Bogert & Appice. In 1975, he switched to a mainly instrumental style, with a focus ...
, 78, English rock guitarist (
The Yardbirds,
The Jeff Beck Group,
Beck, Bogert & Appice),
bacterial meningitis
Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion or ...
.
* 11 January
**
Piers Haggard, 83, British film and television director (''
Pennies from Heaven'', ''
Quatermass
Professor Bernard Quatermass is a fictional scientist, originally created by the writer Nigel Kneale for BBC Television. An intelligent and highly moral British scientist, Quatermass is a pioneer of the British space programme, heading the Brit ...
'', ''
The Blood on Satan's Claw
''The Blood on Satan's Claw'' is a 1971 British supernatural horror film directed by Piers Haggard and starring Patrick Wymark, Linda Hayden, and Barry Andrews. Set in early 18th-century England, it follows the residents of a rural village wh ...
'', ''
The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu
''The Fiendish Plot of Dr. Fu Manchu'' is a 1980 comedy film. It was the final film featuring star Peter Sellers and David Tomlinson. Based on characters created by Sax Rohmer, the film stars Sellers in the dual role of Fu Manchu, a megalomaniac ...
'').
**
Eli Ostreicher
Eli Ostreicher (July 1983 – January 11, 2023) was a British-born American serial entrepreneur based in New York City. He was the founder and active CEO of GTTFP Holdings, originally a B2B luxury air-travel provider and Inc. 500 #1 awardee i ...
, 39, British-born American serial entrepreneur, motorcycle accident in Thailand.
* 12 January
**
Paul Johnson, 94, British journalist, historian and author (''
Modern Times: A History of the World from the 1920s to the 1980s'', ''
A History of the American People
''A History of the American People'' is a 1997 book about the history of the United States by the historian Paul Johnson. First published in Great Britain, it presents Johnson's view of American history from Colonial America to the end of the 2 ...
'', ''
A History of Christianity'').
**
Roy Pierpoint
Roy Pierpoint (15 May 1929 – 12 January 2023) was a British racing driver who drove in saloons and sports cars.
Racing career
His first race was in 1949, at a BARC meeting driving a Fiat 1100 special, which he built himself: "very neat was P ...
, 93, British racing driver,
saloon car champion (
1965
Events January–February
* January 14 – The Prime Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years.
* January 20
** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lyndo ...
).
* 13 January –
Marc Worth
Marcus Daniel Worth (March 1961 – 13 January 2023) was a British businessman. He was the co-founder of WGSN (trend forecasting), Worth Global Style Network, a fashion trend-forecaster, and Stylus.
Early life
Marcus Daniel Worth was born in M ...
, 61, British fashion executive, co-founder of
WGSN
WGSN (90.7 FM, "New Life 90.7") is a radio station broadcasting a Southern Gospel music format. Licensed to Newport, Tennessee
Newport is a city in and the county seat of Cocke County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 6,945 at ...
, heart attack.
* 14 January
**
Alireza Akbari
Alireza Akbari ( fa, علیرضا اکبری; 21 October 1961 – ) was an Iranian politician and a senior Islamic revolutionary guard officer with Iranian and British citizenship. He was Deputy Minister of Defence from 1998 to 2003 under G ...
, 61,
Iranian-British
Iranians in the United Kingdom consist of people of Iranian nationality who have settled in the United Kingdom, as well as British residents and citizens of Iranian heritage. Iranians in the United Kingdom are referred to by hyphenated terms such ...
politician and convicted spy,
execution by hanging. (death announced on this date)
**
Ronald Blythe, 100, English writer and columnist (''
Church Times'').
**
John Wickham, 73, British motor racing team owner (
Spirit Racing
Spirit Racing was a racing car constructor and racing team from the United Kingdom. Founded in 1981, it participated in the 1982 European Formula Two Championship, then in Formula One between and , before competing in the 1988 F3000 season b ...
).
* 15 January –
Bruce Gowers, 82, British television director (''
American Idol'') and music video director ("
Bohemian Rhapsody"), complications from acute respiratory infection.
* 16 January
**
John Bicourt
John Peter Bicourt (25 October 1945 – 16 January 2023) was a British middle-distance runner. He competed in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 1976 Summer Olympics. He represented England in the 3,000 metres steep ...
, 77, British Olympic middle-distance runner (
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
,
1976
Events January
* January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force.
* January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea.
* January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...
). (death announced on this date)
**
Brian Tufano, 83, English cinematographer (''
Trainspotting
Trainspotting may refer to:
* Trainspotting (hobby), an amateur interest in railways/railroads
* ''Trainspotting'' (novel), a 1993 novel by Irvine Welsh
** ''Trainspotting'' (film), a 1996 film based on the novel
*** ''Trainspotting'' (soundtr ...
'', ''
A Life Less Ordinary'', ''
Billy Elliot'').
* 17 January –
Jonathan Raban, 80, British travel writer, critic, and novelist (''
Soft City
''Soft City'' is the first book written by Jonathan Raban, and published by Hamish Hamilton (UK) and E. P. Dutton & Company (US) in 1974
Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States ...
'', ''
Waxwings'', ''
For Love & Money'').
* 19 January
**
David Sutherland David Sutherland may refer to:
* David Sutherland (baseball) (born 1985), Australian baseball player
* David Sutherland (comics) (1933–2023), Scottish comic book artist
* David Sutherland (cricketer) (1873–1971), Australian cricketer
* David Su ...
, 89, Scottish illustrator and comics artist (''
The Beano'', ''
Dennis the Menace and Gnasher
''Dennis the Menace and Gnasher'' (originally titled ''Dennis the Menace'' and currently titled ''Dennis and Gnasher)'' is a long-running comic strip in the British children's comic ''The Beano'', published by DC Thomson, of Dundee, Scotland. ...
'', ''
The Bash Street Kids'').
**
Peter Thomas, 78, English-Irish footballer (
Waterford,
Ireland national team).
**
Anton Walkes
Anton Charles Walkes (8 February 1997 – 19 January 2023) was an English professional footballer who played as a defender or midfielder.
Walkes began his club career with Premier League club Tottenham Hotspur, making one appearance for the c ...
, 25, English footballer (
Portsmouth,
Atlanta United,
Charlotte FC), boat crash.
* 22 January –
Ian Black, 69, British journalist (''
The Guardian''), and author (''
Israel's Secret Wars''), complications from
frontotemporal lobar degeneration.
*23 January –
Fred Lindop
George Frederick Lindop MBE (20 July 1938 – January 2023) was a British rugby league referee. He refereed 22 test matches, including the World Cup Final in 1970. He also refereed five Challenge Cup Finals.
Lindop was awarded the MBE in 1989 ...
, 84, British rugby league referee.
*27 January –
Sylvia Syms
Sylvia May Laura Syms (born 6 January 1934) is an English actress, best known for her roles in the films ''Woman in a Dressing Gown'' (1957), ''Ice Cold in Alex'' (1958), ''No Trees in the Street'' (1959), ''Victim'' (1961), and ''The Tamari ...
, 89, English actress (''
Peak Practice'', ''
EastEnders
''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
'').
See also
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Politics in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is a unitary state with devolution that is governed within the framework of a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch, currently Charles III, King of the United Kingdom, is the head ...
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2020s in United Kingdom political history
2020s political history refers to significant political and societal historical events in the United Kingdom in the 2020s, presented as a historical overview in narrative format.
Boris Johnson Premiership, 2019–2022
General history
Bori ...
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2023 in United Kingdom politics and government
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2023 in British music
This is a summary of the year 2023 in British music.
Events
* 6 January – Glyndebourne Festival Opera announces that its originally planned 2023 Glyndebourne on Tour season will not occur, as a result of the reduced funding from Arts Counci ...
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2023 in British television
This is a list of events taking place in 2023 relating to television in the United Kingdom.
Events January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
Debuts BBC
ITV
Channel 4
Chann ...
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List of British films of 2023
References
{{Years in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
United Kingdom
Years of the 21st century in the United Kingdom