2008 in England
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 2008 in England |
| Years |
| 2006 2006 in England Events from 2006 in England-Incumbents:* Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II * Prime Minister - Tony Blair-January:* 20 January - River Thames whale: a whale is discovered swimming in the River Thames in London.... | 2007 2007 in England Events from 2007 in England-Incumbents:*Monarch – Elizabeth II *Prime Minister – Tony Blair ; Gordon Brown -January:... | 2008 | 2009 2009 in England Events from 2009 in England-Incumbents:*Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II *Prime Minister - Gordon Brown -January:... | 2010 2010 in England Events from 2010 in England-Incumbents:*Monarch – Elizabeth II *Prime Minister – Gordon Brown ; David Cameron -January:... |
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| See also |
| 2007-08 in English football 2007-08 in English football The 2007–08 season was the 128th season of competitive football in England.-European competitions:In October 2007 Arsenal equalled the UEFA Champions League record victory with a 7–0 win over Slavia Prague at the Emirates Stadium. The record was broken the following month when Liverpool... |
| 2008-09 in English football |
Events from 2008 in England
Designation
2008 National Year of Reading2008 National Year of Reading
The 2008 National Year of Reading was a year-long celebration of reading, in all its forms. It aimed to help build a greater national passion for reading in England – for children, families and adult learners alike....
is a year-long celebration of reading, in all its forms.
Incumbents
- Monarch - Queen Elizabeth II (since 6 February 1952)
- Prime Minister - Gordon BrownGordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
(since 27 June 2007)
January
- 7 January - RMS Queen Elizabeth 2RMS Queen Elizabeth 2Queen Elizabeth 2, often referred to simply as the QE2, is an ocean liner that was operated by Cunard from 1969 to 2008. Following her retirement from cruising, she is now owned by Istithmar...
and MS Queen VictoriaMS Queen VictoriaMS Queen Victoria is a cruise ship in the Cunard Line fleet, named after Queen Victoria.Queen Victoria is the running mate to Queen Mary 2, and the new Queen Elizabeth. Until November 2008, she also operated alongside Queen Elizabeth 2...
leave SouthamptonSouthamptonSouthampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
for last and first world cruises respectively. - 9 January - Israeli diamond magnate Lev LevievLev LevievLev Avnerovich Leviev is a Bukharian-Israeli billionaire businessman, with a net worth of roughly $1.5 billion following the 2008 global financial crisis. Leviev is one of the most prominent Mizrahi Jewish individuals in the world and has been a major philanthropist for Jewish causes in Eastern...
buys a new-build house in HampsteadHampsteadHampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...
, London for a record £35 million. - 12 January - The city of LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
officially becomes European Capital of Culture for 2008, a title it will share with StavangerStavangerStavanger is a city and municipality in the county of Rogaland, Norway.Stavanger municipality has a population of 126,469. There are 197,852 people living in the Stavanger conurbation, making Stavanger the fourth largest city, but the third largest urban area, in Norway...
, Norway.
February
- 6 February - The England National Football teamEngland national football teamThe England national football team represents England in association football and is controlled by the Football Association, the governing body for football in England. England is the joint oldest national football team in the world, alongside Scotland, whom they played in the world's first...
defeat SwitzerlandSwitzerland national football teamThe Swiss national football team is the national football team of Switzerland...
2-0 in Fabio CapelloFabio CapelloFabio Capello is an Italian football manager and former player. He is the manager of the England national football team.Capello has the distinction of winning the domestic league title with every club he has coached throughout his career...
's first game as manager at Wembley StadiumWembley StadiumThe original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
in London. - 19 February - Shannon Matthews, 9 years old, from DewsburyDewsburyDewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds...
, West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, goes missing. - 21 February - A jury at IpswichIpswichIpswich is a large town and a non-metropolitan district. It is the county town of Suffolk, England. Ipswich is located on the estuary of the River Orwell...
Crown CourtCrown CourtThe Crown Court of England and Wales is, together with the High Court of Justice and the Court of Appeal, one of the constituent parts of the Senior Courts of England and Wales...
finds Steve WrightIpswich 2006 serial murdersThe Ipswich serial murders took place between 30 October and 10 December 2006 when the bodies of five murdered women were discovered at different locations near Ipswich, Suffolk, England. All the victims were women who worked as prostitutes in the Ipswich area. Their bodies were discovered naked,...
, 49, guilty of murdering five prostitutes in a spree during late 2006. - 22 February
- Steve Wright is sentenced to life imprisonmentLife imprisonmentLife imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
with a recommendation that he should never be releasedWhole life tariffThis is a list of prisoners who have received a whole life tariff through some mechanism in jurisdictions of the United Kingdom.Eight of these prisoners have since died in prison, while three of them have had their sentences reduced on appeal, meaning that there are currently at least 48 prisoners...
. - Mark Dixie, 37, is found guilty of the September 2005 murder of SurreySurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...
model Sally Anne Bowman (18). He is sentenced to life imprisonment at the Old BaileyOld BaileyThe Central Criminal Court in England and Wales, commonly known as the Old Bailey from the street in which it stands, is a court building in central London, one of a number of buildings housing the Crown Court...
, where the trial judge recommends that he serves at least 34 years before paroleParoleParole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
can be considered.
- Steve Wright is sentenced to life imprisonment
- 26 February - Levi BellfieldLevi BellfieldLevi Bellfield is a British serial killer. A former nightclub bouncer and manager of a car clamping business, he was convicted on 25 February 2008 of murdering Marsha McDonnell and Amelie Delagrange. He was also convicted of the attempted murder of Kate Sheedy...
, 38, is found guilty of murdering two women in London in sexually-motivated attacks; the first in 2001, the second in 2004. He receives a life sentence with a recommendation that he should never be released. - 27 February - An earthquake2008 Lincolnshire earthquakeThe 2008 Lincolnshire earthquake struck Lincolnshire, in the United Kingdom, on 27 February 2008 at 00:56:47.8s GMT. According to the British Geological Survey, the quake registered a reading of 5.2 on the Richter scale with the epicentre 2.5 miles north of Market Rasen and 15 miles ...
with an epicentre in LincolnshireLincolnshireLincolnshire is a county in the east of England. It borders Norfolk to the south east, Cambridgeshire to the south, Rutland to the south west, Leicestershire and Nottinghamshire to the west, South Yorkshire to the north west, and the East Riding of Yorkshire to the north. It also borders...
is felt across most of Britain, with several buildings suffering substantial damage.
March
- 14 March - Michael Donovan, 39, from Bartley Carr, West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, is arrested for the kidnap of the 9 year old, Shannon Matthews. - 28 March - London Heathrow Terminal 5 opens at Heathrow Airport to British AirwaysBritish AirwaysBritish Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
with many problems with the IT system, coupled with insufficient testing and staff training, which causes over 500 flights to be cancelled. - 30 March - A plane crashes2008 Farnborough plane crashAt 14:38 on 30 March 2008, a Cessna Citation 501 with five people on board crashed into a house at Farnborough in the London Borough of Bromley, shortly after take off from Biggin Hill. There were no survivors among the five people on board...
into a row of houses in Farnborough, LondonFarnborough, LondonFarnborough is a settlement in the London Borough of Bromley. It is a suburban development located 13.4 miles southeast of Charing Cross.-History:...
, killing two pilots and three passengers.
April
- 2 April - A cross human-cow embryoEmbryoAn embryo is a multicellular diploid eukaryote in its earliest stage of development, from the time of first cell division until birth, hatching, or germination...
survives a third straight day after being fertilized at Newcastle University. A director for embryonic stem cellEmbryonic stem cellEmbryonic stem cells are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of the blastocyst, an early-stage embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells...
laboratories at the Australian Stem Cell CentreAustralian Stem Cell CentreThe Australian Stem Cell Centre - the National Biotechnology Centre of Excellence - is a research and development centre which focusses on regenerative medicine through the use of stem cells. It was founded in 2003, and has received over $100 million in funding in recent years. It is Australia's...
says that the "99 per cent human" embryo could improve research within the field of human diseases. The Catholic Church of England and Wales however said that the creation was "monstrous" and says that the later destruction of it is unethical. - 8 April - Karen Matthews, the mother of the kidnapped 9 year old girl, Shannon Matthews, is arrested for organizing her daughter's kidnap.
May
- 1 May
- The London mayoral electionLondon mayoral election, 2008The London mayoral election, 2008 for the office of Mayor of London was held on 1 May 2008 and was won by Conservative Party candidate Boris Johnson....
is held. ConservativeConservative Party (UK)The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
candidate Boris JohnsonBoris JohnsonAlexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson is a British journalist and Conservative Party politician, who has been the elected Mayor of London since 2008...
defeats the incumbent LabourLabour Party (UK)The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
candidate Ken LivingstoneKen LivingstoneKenneth Robert "Ken" Livingstone is an English politician who is currently a member of the centrist to centre-left Labour Party...
. - London Assembly electionLondon Assembly election, 2008An election to the Assembly of London took place on 1 May 2008, along with the London mayoral election, 2008. The Conservatives gained 2 seats, Labour gained one seat, the Liberal Democrats lost two seats, and United Kingdom Independence Party or One London as they became were wiped out...
also takes place, with Brent and HarrowBrent and Harrow (London Assembly constituency)Brent and Harrow is a constituency represented in the London Assembly.It consists of the combined area of the London Borough of Brent and the London Borough of Harrow. In the 2010 General Election to Westminster the London Borough of Brent had two Labour MPs, one Conservative and one Liberal...
being the only constituency to change hands. Meanwhile, the British National PartyBritish National PartyThe British National Party is a British far-right political party formed as a splinter group from the National Front by John Tyndall in 1982...
gain a seat, their first outside of local councils. - Local electionsUnited Kingdom local elections, 2008The 2008 United Kingdom local elections were held on 1 May 2008. These elections took place in 137 English Local Authorities and all Welsh Councils....
are held in England and Wales. The night sees the governing Labour party fall to third place in the popular vote on 24%, behind the Conservatives on 44% and the Liberal DemocratsLiberal DemocratsThe Liberal Democrats are a social liberal political party in the United Kingdom which supports constitutional and electoral reform, progressive taxation, wealth taxation, human rights laws, cultural liberalism, banking reform and civil liberties .The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the...
on 25%.
- The London mayoral election
- 11 May - Manchester United secure their tenth Premier League title in 16 years with a 2-0 win at Wigan AthleticWigan Athletic F.C.Wigan Athletic Football Club is an English Premier League Association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, having been promoted from the Championship in 2005. Wigan's current spell in the Premier League is the only top flight run in the club's history.They have played at the DW...
on the final day of the league season. Ryan GiggsRyan GiggsRyan Joseph Giggs OBE is a Welsh professional footballer who plays for Manchester United. Giggs made his first appearance for the club during the 1990–91 season and has been a regular player since the 1991–92 season...
, who scores one of United's goals, becomes the first player to win 10 English league titles. - 15 May - Halifax Town A.F.C.Halifax Town A.F.C.Halifax Town Association Football Club were an English football team who most recently played in the Conference National, although prior to that they participated in the Football League for over eighty years...
, a former Football League side, are expelled from the Conference NationalConference NationalConference National is the top division of the Football Conference in England. It is the highest level of the National League System and fifth highest of the overall English football league system...
with multi million pound debts. - 17 May - The FA Cup Final takes place at Wembley StadiumWembley StadiumThe original Wembley Stadium, officially known as the Empire Stadium, was a football stadium in Wembley, a suburb of north-west London, standing on the site now occupied by the new Wembley Stadium that opened in 2007...
between PortsmouthPortsmouth F.C.Portsmouth Football Club is an English football club based in the city of Portsmouth. The club is nicknamed Pompey. Portsmouth's home matches have been played at Fratton Park since the club's formation in 1898. The team currently play in the Football League Championship after being relegated from...
and Cardiff CityCardiff City F.C.Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
with Portsmouth winning 1-0. - 20 May - Joey BartonJoey BartonJoseph Anthony "Joey" Barton is an English footballer who plays for and captains Premier League side Queens Park Rangers as either a central midfielder or a winger....
, a player for Newcastle United Football ClubNewcastle United F.C.Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional association football club based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East End and Newcastle West End, and has played at its current home ground, St James' Park, since the merger...
, is sentenced to six months in prison after being convicted of assaultAssaultIn law, assault is a crime causing a victim to fear violence. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more...
and affrayAffrayIn many legal jurisdictions related to English common law, affray is a public order offence consisting of the fighting of two or more persons in a public place to the terror of ordinary people...
. - 21 May - The first all-English European Cup final sees Manchester UnitedManchester United F.C.Manchester United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, that plays in the Premier League. Founded as Newton Heath LYR Football Club in 1878, the club changed its name to Manchester United in 1902 and moved to Old Trafford in 1910.The 1958...
beat ChelseaChelsea F.C.Chelsea Football Club are an English football club based in West London. Founded in 1905, they play in the Premier League and have spent most of their history in the top tier of English football. Chelsea have been English champions four times, FA Cup winners six times and League Cup winners four...
on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Moscow's Luzhniki StadiumLuzhniki StadiumThe Grand Sports Arena of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex in Moscow, or briefly Luzhniki Stadium , is the biggest sports stadium in Russia. Its total seating capacity is 78,360 seats, all covered. The stadium is a part of the Luzhniki Olympic Complex, previously called the Central Lenin Stadium...
. - 22 May - Construction work begins on the Olympic StadiumOlympic Stadium (London)The London Olympic Stadium will be the centrepiece of the 2012 Summer Olympics and Paralympics. The stadium is located at Marshgate Lane in Stratford in the Lower Lea Valley and has capacity for the Games of approximately 80,000 making it temporarily the third largest stadium in Britain behind...
being built for the 2012 games2012 Summer OlympicsThe 2012 Summer Olympic Games, officially known as the "London 2012 Olympic Games", are scheduled to take place in London, England, United Kingdom from 27 July to 12 August 2012...
.
July
- 22 July - The London Motor Show is held, a highlight being Vauxhall's launchVauxhall MotorsVauxhall Motors is a British automotive company owned by General Motors and headquartered in Luton. It was founded in 1857 as a pump and marine engine manufacturer, began manufacturing cars in 1903 and was acquired by GM in 1925. It has been the second-largest selling car brand in the UK for...
of its new InsigniaOpel InsigniaThe Opel Insignia is a large family car engineered and produced by the German automaker Opel. Production of the Insignia began in 2008 as a replacement for the Opel Vectra. Opel launched the vehicle at the 2008 British International Motor Show in London as the Vauxhall Insignia, reflecting the...
that replaces the Vectra and is due on sale later this year.
October
- October
- St Hilda's College, OxfordSt Hilda's College, OxfordSt Hilda's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England.The college was founded in 1893 as a hall for women, and remained an all-women's college until 2006....
, ceases to be the last single-sex college of the University of OxfordColleges of the University of OxfordThe University of Oxford comprises 38 Colleges and 6 Permanent Private Halls of religious foundation. Colleges and PPHs are autonomous self-governing corporations within the university, and all teaching staff and students studying for a degree of the university must belong to one of the colleges...
by admitting male undergraduates. - Toyota launches yet another Avensis at the 2008 Paris Motor Show2008 Paris Motor ShowThe 2008 Paris Motor Show took place from 4 October to 19 October 2008, in Paris Expo, Porte de Versailles.This edition of the Paris Motor Show featured a high number of hybrid and electric vehicles , a tectonic shift that led a New York Times blogger to ask, "Who killed the non-electric cars?".-...
to be built at TMUK.
- St Hilda's College, Oxford
- 6 October - Footballer Luke McCormickLuke McCormickLuke Martin McCormick is a former English football goalkeeper. He played for Plymouth Argyle between 2003 and 2008, but his contract was cancelled by mutual consent in July 2008 after he caused a car crash which killed two children...
, a former goalkeeper for Plymouth ArgylePlymouth Argyle F.C.Plymouth Argyle Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Plymouth, Devon, that plays in Football League Two.Since becoming professional in 1903, the club has won five Football League titles, five Southern League titles and one Western League title. The 2009–10 season was the...
, is sentenced to seven years in prison for causing death by dangerous driving.
November
- 5 November - Lewis HamiltonLewis HamiltonLewis Carl Davidson Hamilton, MBE is a British Formula One racing driver from England, currently racing for the McLaren team. He was the Formula One World Champion.Hamilton was born in Stevenage, Hertfordshire...
becomes the youngest ever Formula OneFormula OneFormula One, also known as Formula 1 or F1 and referred to officially as the FIA Formula One World Championship, is the highest class of single seater auto racing sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile . The "formula" designation in the name refers to a set of rules with which...
World Champion.
December
- 4 December
- Karen Matthews, 32, is convicted of the kidnapping her 9 year old daughter, Shanon, who was kidnapped in DewsburyDewsburyDewsbury is a minster town in the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England. It is to the west of Wakefield, east of Huddersfield and south of Leeds...
, West YorkshireWest YorkshireWest Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, on 19 February 2008. - Lapland New ForestLapland New ForestLapland New Forest was a Christmas-themed park that existed for a brief period in December 2008, near Ringwood, Hampshire. The park achieved a great deal of notoriety in the United Kingdom in 2008 due to the extremely poor quality of its attractions, which largely consisted of a single billboard...
, a Christmas themed park in DorsetDorsetDorset , is a county in South West England on the English Channel coast. The county town is Dorchester which is situated in the south. The Hampshire towns of Bournemouth and Christchurch joined the county with the reorganisation of local government in 1974...
closes after scores of complaints about the poor quality of its attractions.
- Karen Matthews, 32, is convicted of the kidnapping her 9 year old daughter, Shanon, who was kidnapped in Dewsbury
- 16 December - Sean Mercer, 18, is found guilty of murdering 11-year-old Rhys JonesMurder of Rhys JonesThe murder of Rhys Milford Jones occurred in Liverpool, England, when he was shot in the back. An 18-year-old youth, Sean Mercer, went on trial on 2 October 2008 and was convicted of murder on 16 December 2008....
who was shot dead in CroxtethCroxtethCroxteth is a suburb of Liverpool, Merseyside, England and a Liverpool City Council Ward. Although housing in the area is predominantly modern, the suburb has some notable history. It is known locally as "Crocky"...
, LiverpoolLiverpoolLiverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, in August last year. Mercer is sentenced to life imprisonmentLife imprisonmentLife imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
at the trial judge recommends that he serves at least 22 years before paroleParoleParole may have different meanings depending on the field and judiciary system. All of the meanings originated from the French parole . Following its use in late-resurrected Anglo-French chivalric practice, the term became associated with the release of prisoners based on prisoners giving their...
can be considered. This is likely to keep Mercer in prison until at least 2030 and the age of 40. - 18 December - Robert NapperRobert NapperRobert Clive Napper is a convicted British serial killer and rapist who was remanded in Broadmoor Hospital indefinitely on 18 December 2008 for the manslaughter of Rachel Nickell on 15 July 1992...
pleads guilty to killing Rachel Nickell, who was stabbed to death on Wimbledon Common on 15 July 1992.