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Political Issues
01 Dec
1942: Beveridge lays welfare foundations
26 May
1950: UK drivers cheer end of fuel rations
12 Feb
1954: New authority for atomic energy
17 May
1955: Eden takes to the airwaves
05 Mar
1956: US court victory for black students
18 Apr
1956: Macmillan unveils premium bond scheme
07 May
1956: Minister rejects anti-smoking lobby
20 Jul
1957: Britons 'have never had it so good'
30 Oct
1957: Lords to admit first women peers
18 Apr
1960: Thousands protest against H-bomb
19 Mar
1964: 'Ambitious' plans for south east
23 Dec
1964: Beeching to leave British Railways
16 Feb
1965: Beeching plans for 'bloated' railways
18 Jun
1965: Drink-drive limit to be introduced
04 Oct
1965: Immigrants feel at home with BBC
01 Mar
1966: Britain to go decimal in 1971
04 May
1966: Doctors and dentists get huge pay rise
15 Feb
1971: D-Day delivers new UK currency
24 Feb
1971: UK restricts Commonwealth migrants
27 Apr
1971: Protest disrupts Welsh language trial
15 Jun
1971: Councils defy Thatcher milk ban
15 Jul
1971: Seals shot by government decree
20 Jan
1972: UK unemployment tops one million
23 Jun
1972: Chancellor orders pound flotation
06 Nov
1972: Pay and price freeze aims to curb inflation
13 Dec
1972: New offer for Thalidomide victims
01 Jan
1973: Britain joins the EEC
09 Mar
1973: Northern Ireland votes for union
01 May
1973: Thousands strike over pay and prices
24 Jun
1974: Labour rift over nuclear test
15 Dec
1974: New speed limit to curb fuel use
26 Apr
1975: Labour votes to leave the EEC
06 Jun
1975: UK embraces Europe in referendum
09 Jun
1975: First live broadcast of Parliament
19 Jul
1976: Fight for fishing rights in Europe
25 Jul
1978: Motability gets moving in the UK
14 Dec
1978: Labour faces vote of confidence
20 Dec
1979: Council tenants will have 'right to buy'
02 May
1982: British sub sinks Argentine cruiser
31 Jan
1983: British drivers ordered to belt up
28 Mar
1983: Macgregor named as coal boss
01 Apr
1983: Human chain links nuclear sites
08 Dec
1983: Television cameras allowed into Lords
21 Mar
1984: EEC summit collapses over rebate row
20 Jun
1984: O-Levels to be replaced by GCSEs
19 Dec
1984: Britain signs over Hong Kong to China
16 Feb
1985: Falklands' row civil servant resigns
09 Jan
1986: Heseltine quits over Westland
31 Jul
1987: Newspaper caught in Spycatcher row
23 Sep
1987: Ban lifted on MI5 man's memoirs
13 Oct
1988: Government loses Spycatcher battle
20 Oct
1988: New law could erode right to silence
18 Dec
1989: Labour's union U-turn
01 Mar
1990: Secrets act gags whistleblowers
31 Mar
1990: Violence flares in poll tax demonstration
11 Apr
1990: Customs seize 'supergun'
14 Aug
1990: One in five yet to pay poll tax
08 Oct
1990: Britain's first full day in ERM
01 Nov
1990: Howe resigns over Europe policy
10 Dec
1990: Iraq frees British hostages
23 Mar
1991: Tories launch 'citizen charter'
04 Jun
1991: UK army spending to be cut
11 Jul
1991: Anti-poll tax MP jailed
22 Jul
1991: Citizen's charter promises better services
07 Feb
1992: Maastricht treaties make EU official
16 Sep
1992: UK crashes out of ERM
26 Nov
1992: Queen to be taxed from next year
16 Jul
1993: Secret Service goes public
29 Nov
1993: Secret meetings with IRA revealed
01 Feb
1994: MPs condemn sale of Rover
25 May
1994: Camelot wins UK lottery race
06 Jun
1994: Asylum seekers flee detention centre
03 Mar
1995: MPs move to outlaw hunting
09 Mar
1995: Queen marks peace in Belfast
15 Feb
1996: Arms-to-Iraq report published
16 Oct
1996: Handguns to be banned in the UK
06 May
1997: Brown sets Bank of England free
19 May
1997: Labour to stub out tobacco sponsorship
12 Sep
1997: Scots say 'Yes' to home rule
23 Sep
1997: Peace talks wobble after Unionist outburst
29 Sep
1997: Scientists confirm brain diseases link
18 Dec
1997: Dawn of Scottish parliament
10 May
1998: Sinn Fein backs peace deal
23 May
1998: Leaders welcome 'yes' vote for N Ireland
31 Jul
1998: UK imposes total ban on landmines
24 Nov
1998: Queen's speech spells end for peers
06 Jan
2000: Flu outbreak stretches NHS resources
26 Feb
2000: UK Government moves to gag ex-spy
03 Apr
2000: Asylum voucher scheme enforced
04 May
2000: Ken Livingstone voted London mayor
27 May
2000: GM blunder leaves farmers in uproar
07 Jun
2000: Blair 'handbagged' by the WI
01 Jul
2000: Ex-Blair ally attacks prime minister
04 Jul
2000: Litter louts escape the law
27 Jul
2000: Labour publishes plans to revolutionise NHS
14 Jul
2001: NI agreement stalls in Staffordshire
16 Jul
2001: Rebel MPs defeat the government
25 Oct
2001: Crime rates lowest for 20 years
16 Dec
2001: Thousands rally for Scots countryside
23 Jan
2002: Elderly patient sparks Commons row
18 Nov
2003: High security as Bush visits UK
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