Colonel William A. Phillips

Add links

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

Boris Johnson won a landslide majority in the 2019 general election.[1] In late January 2020, the United Kingdom officially left the European Union.

Special events and issues

COVID-19 pandemic

Sign in Otley reminding the public of the need for social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic spread to the United Kingdom in late January 2020. As of 15 January 2022 there have been 15,147,120 confirmed cases[nb 1] and 151,899 confirmed deaths overall,[nb 2] the world's 31st-highest death-rate per capita.[2] There were 174,233 deaths where the death certificate mentioned COVID-19 by January 15 (see Statistics).[3] More than 90% of those dying had underlying illnesses or were over 60 years old. The infection rate is higher in care homes than in the community, which is inflating the overall infection rate. There is large regional variation in the outbreak's severity. In March, London had the highest number of infections[4] while North East England has the highest infection rate.[5] England is the country of the UK with the most such deaths per capita, while Northern Ireland has the lowest. Healthcare in the UK is devolved to each country.

The Department of Health and Social Care launched a public health information campaign to help slow the virus's spread, and began posting daily updates in early February. In February, the Heath Secretary, Matt Hancock, introduced the Health Protection (Coronavirus) Regulations 2020 for England, used as a template in the other parts of the UK, and hospitals set up drive-through screening. The Chief Medical Officer for England, Chris Whitty, outlined a four-pronged strategy to tackle the outbreak: contain, delay, research and mitigate.

In March, the UK government imposed a lockdown, banning all "non-essential" travel and contact with people outside one's home (including family and partners), and shutting almost all schools and other educational institutions, shops selling nonessential goods, venues, facilities, amenities and places of worship. Those with symptoms, and their household, were told to self-isolate, while the most vulnerable (the over 70s and those with certain illnesses) were told to shield themselves. People were made to keep apart in public. Police were empowered to enforce the lockdown, and the Coronavirus Act 2020 gave the government emergency powers[6] not used since the Second World War.[7][8] Panic buying was reported.

George Floyd protests

In late May and in June 2020, protests took place across the country following the murder of George Floyd, a 46-year-old African American man, by police officers while under arrest in Minneapolis, Minnesota on 25 May. Immediately after the murder, protests and riots broke out in dozens of cities across the United States. These spread internationally for the first time three days later, with a solidarity demonstration outside the United States Embassy in London.

Protests spread across the UK, particularly in London, Birmingham and Manchester. Many have been organised by the Black Lives Matter and Stand Up to Racism movements. As well as providing solidarity to protests in the United States, many of the protests highlight pockets and instances of racism in operational policy and conduct of UK policing, rehabilitation and in daily life.

Many protests have received endorsement and support from local councils and politicians, including in Liverpool and Oxford. Most such UK protests have been peaceful, although notable clashes between protesters and police have occurred many times in central London. Confrontations between police and protesters included a group spraying "ACAB" on the memorial to Earl Haig. When soldiers from the Household Cavalry in plain clothes scrubbed the graffiti off, protesters criticised them for doing so.[9] Protesters sprayed graffiti on the plinth of the statue of Winston Churchill in Parliament Square calling him a racist.[10] A statue of 17th-century slave trader and town benefactor Edward Colston was toppled from its pedestal in The Centre, Bristol and thrown into Bristol Harbour on 7 June.[11] The movement having identified many divisive figures of the past, some local councils have renamed such streets and public buildings, notably the Bristol Beacon having formerly paid homage to Colston.

Liz Truss Premiership, September–October 2022

Following her victory in the leadership election, Liz Truss was appointed Prime Minister by Queen Elizabeth II, one of her last official acts before her death. The state funeral of the Queen coincided with the proclamation of the new monarch, Charles III.

Truss along with Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng introduced sweeping budget and tax cuts in their proposed mini-budget. The proposal of the mini-budget directly resulted in the worsening of the ongoing economic crisis in the country as well as the resignation of Truss, making her the shortest-serving prime minister in history.[citation needed]

Rishi Sunak Premiership, 2022–present

The premiership of Rishi Sunak began on 25 October 2022 following a leadership election. Sunak is the first prime minister invited to form a government during the reign of King Charles III, as well as the first British Asian, first British Indian, first person of colour, and first Hindu prime minister.[12] He is also Britain's wealthiest ever prime minister as a former hedge fund manager.[13] Sunak attended the coronation of Charles III and Queen Camilla on 6 May 2023.[14]

History by issue

Brexit

In January 2020, the United Kingdom and Gibraltar left the European Union,[15] beginning an 11-month transition period, during which they remain in the Single Market and Customs Union.[16]

Climate change

In December 2019, the World Meteorological Organization released its annual climate report revealing that climate impacts are worsening.[17] They found the global sea temperatures are rising as well as land temperatures worldwide. 2019 is the last year in a decade that is the warmest on record.[18]

Global carbon emissions hit a record high in 2019, even though the rate of increase slowed somewhat, according to a report from Global Carbon Project.[19]

COVID-19 pandemic

Graph showing the number of COVID-19 cases and deaths in the United Kingdom, logarithmic scale on y-axis

This article outlines the history of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United Kingdom (granular timelines can be found here). Though later reporting indicated that there may have been some cases dating from late 2019,[20][21] COVID-19 was confirmed to be spreading in the UK by the end of January 2020.[22] The country was initially relatively slow implementing restrictions but a legally enforced stay-at-home order had been introduced by late March.[23][24][25] Restrictions were steadily eased across the UK in late spring and early summer that year.[26][27][28][29][30][31]

By the Autumn, COVID-19 cases were again rising.[32] This led to the creation of new regulations along with the introduction of the concept of a local lockdown, a variance in restrictions in a more specific geographic location than the four nations of the UK.[33][34][35][36][37][38] Lockdowns took place in Wales, England and Northern Ireland later that season.[39][40][41] In part due to a new variant of the virus,[42][43] cases were still increasing[44] and the NHS had come under severe strain by late December.[45][46][47][48][49] This led to a tightening of restrictions across the UK.[50][51][52][53]

The first COVID-19 vaccine was approved and began its rollout in the UK in early December.[54][55] 15 million vaccine doses had been given to predominantly those most vulnerable to the virus by mid-February.[56] 6 months later more than 75% of adults in the UK were fully vaccinated against COVID-19.[57] Restrictions began to ease from late February onwards and almost all had ended in Great Britain by August.[58][59][60][61] The SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant drove an increase in daily case numbers that remained high through autumn, although the vaccination programme led to a lower mortality rate.[62][63] The SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant arrived in early December, driving a further increase in cases.[64][65][66]

History by major political party

Conservatives

Leadership elections for the Scottish Conservatives were held in February and August 2020. Douglas Ross is now the leader [67]

Labour

Hustings during the 2020 labour leadership contest

As both the Labour leader (Jeremy Corbyn) and deputy leader (Tom Watson) had resigned or announced their intention to do so in late 2019,[68][69] the party had both a leadership and deputy leadership contest in early 2020.[70] The leadership contest was won by Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union Keir Starmer with 275,780 votes (56.2% of the vote share).[71] Angela Rayner became the deputy leader, achieving 192,168 first preference votes (41.7% of the vote share) and winning a majority of votes after the third round.[72]

Liberal Democrats

After their leader (Jo Swinson) lost her seat at the 2019 general election, the Liberal Democrats announced early in 2020 that they planned to have new leader in place by the middle of July that year.[73] The contest was delayed by six weeks due to the COVID-19 pandemic with the winner being declared in late August, until then MP Sir Ed Davey and the party's president Mark Pack remained its acting leadership.[74][75][76] The contest was won by Ed Davey with 63.5% of the vote.[77]

The Liberal Democrats were victorious in by-elections in Chesham and Amersham, North Shropshire and Tiverton and Honiton. In North Shropshire it was thought to have been the largest majority ever overturned in a by-election.[78]

Scottish National Party

SNP Chief Whip in the House of Commons Patrick Grady resigned following a complaint of sexual misconduct by an SNP staff member.[79] The SNP won a plurality of seats in the 2021 Scottish Parliament election.[80] The Third Sturgeon government was formed with support from the Scottish Greens.[81]

Ian Blackford announced his intention to stand down from his role of Leader of the Scottish National Party in the House of Commons on 1 December 2022.[82] He denied being forced out by SNP MPs.[83] His successor, Stephen Flynn, was elected on 6 December.[84]

History by devolved administration

Greater London Authority

The London mayoral election originally due to take place in May 2020 was suspended for a year to 6 May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[85] The mayoral race saw London Labour's Sadiq Khan win on second preferences with 55.2% of the vote. The 2021 London Assembly election took place on the same day. The assembly elections saw Labour lose a seat while the London Conservatives, London Liberal Democrats and London Greens each gained one.[86][87]

Scottish government

Official portrait of the Scottish Cabinet appointed following the 2021 election

The 2021 Scottish Parliament election took place on 6 May 2021.[88] The election saw limited changes in vote share and seats with each party gaining or losing less than 2% of the overall share in each category of voting. The SNP gained one seat but fell one short of an overall majority. The Scottish Conservatives maintained their second-place position with the same number of seats as in 2016. Whilst, Scottish Labour continued in third place with a loss of two seats. The Scottish Greens gained two extra seats with a small increase in their vote share. The election also had an unusually high voter turnout compared to previous Scottish parliament elections of 63.2%. It was suggested that this may have been in part due to the COVID-19 pandemic leading to higher postal voting and lockdown giving people more time to engage with political activists and go to the polling station.[89][90] Later that year, the SNP and Scottish Greens established a powersharing agreement where the latter was given non-cabinet ministerial positions in exchange for support on votes of confidence, budgets and some areas of policy.[91]

Welsh government

The 2021 Senedd election took place on 6 May 2021.[88] It was the first Welsh Parliament election where 16- and 17-year-olds could vote, following the enactment of Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act that lowered the voting age to 16 for Welsh Senedd elections.[92] The election saw Welsh Labour gain one seat falling one short of an overall majority (which no party had ever achieved). The Welsh Conservatives gained five seats returning their strongest ever result of 16. Plaid Cymru made a net gain of one seat returning 13. The Welsh Liberal Democrats lost their only constituency but kept a seat through the regional vote, whilst UKIP lost all its seats from 2016 and no other party gained any.[93][94] While Labour lacked an overall majority it decided to not make any kind of coalition or confidence pact and its leader Mark Drakeford was reconfirmed as First Minister of Wales a few days later with none of the other parties attempting to mount any kind of challenge.[95][96] Though, in late 2021, Welsh Labour and Plaid Cymru reached an agreement to cooperate for three years.[97]

Northern Irish Executive

The Northern Irish Assembly returned to business in January 2020 after a three-year hiatus with a new power sharing agreement between Sinn Féin and the DUP.[98]

On 30 April, First Minister of Northern Ireland Arlene Foster resigned as leader of the Democratic Unionist Party.[99] She was replaced as First Minister of Northern Ireland by Paul Givan who was confirmed on 17 July.[100] Meanwhile, the role of DUP leader was handled separately, being given first to Edwin Poots on the 14 May and following his resignation after just 21 days in the role it was taken by Jeffrey Donaldson.[101][102][103]

British Virgin Islands

On 28 April 2022, Premier of the British Virgin Islands Andrew Fahie was arrested in the United States on charges related to drug trafficking and money laundering.[104][105] Shortly afterwards, on 5 May 2022, he was removed as Premier by a near-unanimous vote in the House of Assembly, and replaced by his deputy Natalio Wheatley.[106] On 8 June 2022, the British Government decided against direct rule for the islands.[107]

Deaths

History by local government

Local elections in England as well as police and crime commissioner elections in England and Wales were postponed from May 2020 to 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[85] Taking place on 6 May, the local elections saw the conservatives make a net gain of 294 councillors and 13 councils, whilst labour lost 264 and eight respectively. The Green Party of England and Wales gained 85 council seats and the Liberal Democrats increased their total by three.[108] The Conservatives gained both a mayor and a police and crime commissioner of Labour, who themselves gained the same from the Conservatives and Plaid Cymru.[109][110][111]

At the 2022 local elections, the Conservatives made a net loss of 487 seats in comparison to 2017 in Scotland and Wales and 2018 in England, whilst Labour gained 108 seats (22 in England, 20 in Scotland, and 66 in Wales). The Liberal Democrats and Greens made gains of 224 seats and 87 seats, respectively, which exceeded those of the Labour Party in England but were also seen to a more modest extent in Scotland and Wales. The Scottish National Party (SNP) gained 22 seats in Scotland whilst Plaid Cymru made a net loss of 6 seats in Wales.[112]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Not including cases identified in British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies, all of which test and report cases independently.
  2. ^ Death figures are those who have died after testing positive. It does not include the death of one British citizen on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship (see COVID-19 pandemic on cruise ships), or the 84 recorded deaths in the British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies.

References

  1. ^ "Results of the 2019 General Election". BBC News. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  2. ^ "Mortality in the most affected countries". Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center. Retrieved 2 June 2020.
  3. ^ "Deaths registered weekly in England and Wales, provisional". Office for National Statistics. Retrieved 26 May 2020."Deaths involving coronavirus (COVID-19) in Scotland". National Records of Scotland. Retrieved 26 May 2020."Weekly Deaths". NISRA. 12 January 2017. Retrieved 26 May 2020.
  4. ^ O'Carroll, Lisa (16 March 2020). "Coronavirus spreading fastest in UK in London". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Data reveals parts of the country with the highest rate of coronavirus infection". ITV News. 14 May 2020. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  6. ^ "PM announces strict new curbs on life in UK". BBC News. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  7. ^ "What is in the Coronavirus Bill? Key areas of the new legislation". The Telegraph, 25 March 2020.
  8. ^ "Britain Placed Under a Virtual Lockdown by Boris Johnson". The New York Times, 23 March 2020.
  9. ^ Youths cleaning graffiti are taunted
  10. ^ Winston Churchill statue desecrated
  11. ^ "Protesters tear down statue amid anti-racism demos". BBC News. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 8 June 2020.
  12. ^ "Rishi Sunak vows to fix Liz Truss's mistakes in first speech as PM". BBC News. 25 October 2022. Retrieved 26 October 2022.
  13. ^ Adu, Aletha; correspondent, Aletha Adu Political (19 May 2023). "Rishi Sunak's family fortune falls by £200m in Sunday Times rich list". The Guardian.
  14. ^ "Here's Everyone Who Will—and Won't—Go to King Charles III's Coronation". Time. Archived from the original on 12 April 2023. Retrieved 12 April 2023.
  15. ^ "Brexit: UK leaves the European Union". BBC News. BBC. 31 January 2019.
  16. ^ Edgington, Tom (31 January 2020). "Brexit: What happens next?". BBC News. Retrieved 26 February 2020.
  17. ^ Climate Change Is Accelerating, Bringing World ‘Dangerously Close’ to Irreversible Change, By Henry Fountain, 4 Dec. 2019, NY Times.
  18. ^ 2019 Ends Warmest Decade On Record, State Of The Global Climate Report Warns, iflscience.com
  19. ^ Global carbon emissions growth slows, but hits record high, 3 December 2019, Stanford University via phys.org.
  20. ^ "Covid started a year ago – but did this bricklayer bring it to UK sooner?". Metro. 17 November 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  21. ^ "Coronavirus doctor's diary: the strange case of the choir that coughed in January". BBC News. 10 May 2020.
  22. ^ Ball, Tom; Wace, Charlotte (31 January 2020). "Hunt for contacts of coronavirus-stricken pair in York". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Archived from the original on 4 February 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2020.
  23. ^ Yong, Ed (16 March 2020). "The U.K.'s Coronavirus 'Herd Immunity' Debacle". The Atlantic. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
  24. ^ Gadher, Jonathan Calvert, George Arbuthnott, Jonathan Leake, Dipesh. "22 days of dither and delay on coronavirus that cost thousands of British lives". The Times. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 15 July 2021.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  25. ^ "Boris Johnson orders three-week lockdown of UK to tackle coronavirus spread". ITV News. 23 March 2020. Retrieved 23 March 2020.
  26. ^ "PM address to the nation on coronavirus: 10 May 2020". Government of the United Kingdom. 10 May 2020. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  27. ^ "Coronavirus: Scottish lockdown easing to begin on Friday". BBC News. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
  28. ^ "Non-essentials shops in NI can reopen from Friday". ITV News. 8 June 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  29. ^ "As it happened: Thousands flock to reopened shops in England". BBC. 15 June 2020. Retrieved 14 July 2020.
  30. ^ "Shops reopen with strict social distancing measures". BBC News. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  31. ^ "Queues form as doors open for retail return". BBC News. 29 June 2020. Retrieved 19 July 2020.
  32. ^ "Covid updates: UK records highest daily Covid deaths since 1 July". BBC News. Retrieved 2 October 2020.
  33. ^ "Children will stay part of rule of six, says Gove". BBC News. 12 September 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  34. ^ "Covid: New restrictions in North West, Midlands, and West Yorkshire". BBC News. 18 September 2020. Retrieved 19 September 2020.
  35. ^ "Pubs in England to close at 10pm amid Covid spread". BBC News. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  36. ^ "Pubs in Wales to close at 22:00 from Thursday". BBC News. 22 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  37. ^ "Alcohol-only pubs reopen in Northern Ireland". BBC News. 23 September 2020. Retrieved 25 September 2020.
  38. ^ Covid: Ban on meeting in houses extended across Scotland 22 September 2020 BBC. Retrieved 23 September 2020
  39. ^ "Schools to close and tight new hospitality rules in Northern Ireland". BBC News. 14 October 2020. Retrieved 14 October 2020.
  40. ^ "Covid: Wales to go into 'firebreak' lockdown from Friday". BBC News. 19 October 2020. Retrieved 28 October 2020.
  41. ^ Covid-19: PM announces four-week England lockdown 1 November 2020 BBC. Retrieved 5 November 2020
  42. ^ Wise, Jacqui (16 December 2020). "Covid-19: New coronavirus variant is identified in UK". BMJ. pp. m4857. doi:10.1136/bmj.m4857. Retrieved 19 December 2020.
  43. ^ New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (18 December 2020). "NERVTAG meeting on SARS-CoV-2 variant under investigation: VUI-202012/01".
  44. ^ "Covid-19: UK reports a record 55,892 daily cases". BBC News. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  45. ^ "Overwhelmed NHS hospitals diverting patients experts warn of third wave". The Week UK. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  46. ^ "Covid: 'Nail-biting' weeks ahead for NHS, hospitals in England warn". BBC News. 1 January 2021. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  47. ^ Campbell, Denis (27 December 2020). "Hospitals in England told to free up all possible beds for surging Covid cases". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  48. ^ "Pressure on hospitals 'at a really dangerous point'". BBC News. 18 December 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  49. ^ "Covid rule-breakers 'have blood on their hands'". BBC News. 31 December 2020. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  50. ^ "Covid in Scotland: Scots ordered to stay at home in new lockdown". BBC News. BBC. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  51. ^ "Covid: New lockdown for England amid 'hardest weeks'". BBC News. BBC. 4 January 2021. Retrieved 4 January 2021.
  52. ^ "Covid: Wales locks down as Christmas plans cut". BBC News. 19 December 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  53. ^ "Coronavirus: NI facing six-week lockdown from 26 December". BBC News. 17 December 2020. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  54. ^ "Covid: First batch of vaccines arrives in the UK". BBC News. 3 December 2020. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  55. ^ "Covid-19 vaccine: First person receives Pfizer jab in UK". BBC News. 8 December 2020. Retrieved 8 December 2020.
  56. ^ "Covid: Vaccine given to 15 million in UK as PM hails 'extraordinary feat'". BBC News. BBC. 14 February 2021. Retrieved 14 February 2021.
  57. ^ "Covid-19: More than 75% of UK adults now double-jabbed". BBC News. 10 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  58. ^ "What's the roadmap for lifting lockdown? - BBC News". BBC News. 23 February 2021. Archived from the original on 23 February 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  59. ^ "19 July: England Covid restrictions ease as PM urges caution". BBC News. 19 July 2021. Retrieved 11 October 2021.
  60. ^ "Covid: Pubs busy as most rules end in Wales". BBC News. 7 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  61. ^ "Covid in Scotland: 'Right moment' to lift restrictions, says Sturgeon". BBC News. 9 August 2021. Retrieved 17 August 2021.
  62. ^ Callaway, Ewen (22 June 2021). "Delta coronavirus variant: scientists brace for impact". Nature. 595 (7865): 17–18. Bibcode:2021Natur.595...17C. doi:10.1038/d41586-021-01696-3. PMID 34158664. S2CID 235609029.
  63. ^ Devlin, Hannah (15 October 2021). "Why Britons are tolerating sky-high Covid rates – and why this may not last". The Guardian. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  64. ^ Kleiderman, Alex (27 November 2021). "Covid: Travel and mask rules tightened over Omicron variant". BBC News. Retrieved 28 November 2021.
  65. ^ Salisbury, Josh (6 December 2021). "Omicron could become dominant in UK 'within weeks', predicts expert". Evening Standard. Evening Standard. Evening Standard. Retrieved 7 December 2021.
  66. ^ "Covid: First UK death recorded with Omicron variant". BBC News. 13 December 2021. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  67. ^ "Douglas Ross confirmed as new Scottish Tory leader". BBC News. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 1 October 2020.
  68. ^ Stewart, Heather (6 November 2019). "Tom Watson quits as Labour deputy leader and steps down as MP". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  69. ^ Bienkov, Thomas Colson, Adam. "Jeremy Corbyn announces he will resign as Labour Party leader". Business Insider. Retrieved 11 February 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  70. ^ Chappell, Elliot; Rodgers, Sienna (13 January 2020). "5 leadership and 5 deputy candidates through to next stage of contests". LabourList. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  71. ^ "Keir Starmer elected as new Labour leader". BBC News. 4 April 2020. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  72. ^ "Leadership Elections 2020 Results". The Labour Party. Retrieved 5 April 2020.
  73. ^ "New Liberal Democrat leader in place by mid-July". BBC News. 18 January 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  74. ^ "Lib Dems to hold leadership contest this summer". BBC News. 20 May 2020. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  75. ^ "Election Timeline". Liberal Democrats. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  76. ^ "Evening Call: What's on the news agenda for 2020?". www.newstatesman.com. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
  77. ^ "Davey wins Liberal Democrat leadership race". BBC News. 27 August 2020. Retrieved 13 September 2020.
  78. ^ Walker, Peter (24 June 2022). "Tories lose two key byelections on same night in Wakefield and Tiverton and Honiton". The Guardian.
  79. ^ "Patrick Grady to step away from SNP membership over allegations". BBC News. 26 June 2022. Retrieved 26 June 2022.
  80. ^ "Sturgeon hails historic win short of a majority". BBC News. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  81. ^ "SNP and Greens agree new power-sharing deal". BBC News. 19 August 2021. Retrieved 19 August 2021.
  82. ^ "Ian Blackford to stand down as SNP leader at Westminster". BBC News. 1 December 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  83. ^ "Blackford denies being pushed out by SNP MPs". BBC News. 4 December 2022. Retrieved 4 December 2022.
  84. ^ "Stephen Flynn elected as new SNP leader at Westminster". BBC News. 6 December 2022. Retrieved 6 December 2022.[permanent dead link]
  85. ^ a b "English local elections postponed over coronavirus". BBC News. 13 March 2020. Retrieved 21 March 2020.
  86. ^ Clark, Alex; Riddy, Bruno; Edgington, Oliver; Butcher, Ben (10 May 2021). "London mayoral election results 2021: Sadiq Khan re-elected for second term". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  87. ^ Talora, Joe (9 May 2021). "Full results for the 2021 Mayor of London and London Assembly elections". East London and West Essex Guardian Series. Archived from the original on 9 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  88. ^ a b Forrest, Adam (6 May 2021). "When are the local elections and what exactly are we voting on?". The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  89. ^ Sim, Philip (9 May 2021). "Scottish election 2021: Results in maps and charts". BBC News. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  90. ^ "Scottish Parliament election 2021". BBC News. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  91. ^ "Scottish Greens back historic government deal". BBC News. 28 August 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  92. ^ "Assembly passes new law to give 16 and 17-year-olds the right to vote in Welsh elections". ITV News. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 30 March 2021.
  93. ^ "Welsh election results 2021: How it happened". BBC News. 8 May 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  94. ^ "Welsh Parliament election 2021". BBC News. Retrieved 29 May 2021.
  95. ^ "Election 2021: Mark Drakeford to form Welsh Labour government alone". BBC News. 9 May 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  96. ^ "Wales election: Senedd confirms Mark Drakeford as first minister". BBC News. 12 May 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  97. ^ "Labour and Plaid Cymru deal set to last three years". BBC News. 22 November 2021. Retrieved 22 November 2021.
  98. ^ "Northern Ireland: Devolution formally restored as power-sharing resumes at Stormont". Sky News. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  99. ^ "Arlene Foster set to quit DUP after stepping down as leader: reports". belfasttelegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 8 May 2021.
  100. ^ Kearney, Vincent (17 June 2021). "Givan, O'Neill installed as NI First and Deputy First Ministers". RTÉ News and Current Affairs. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  101. ^ "As it happened: How Edwin Poots won DUP vote". BBC News. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  102. ^ "DUP leader Edwin Poots resigns amid internal party revolt". BBC News. 17 June 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  103. ^ "DUP leadership: Sir Jeffrey Donaldson ratified as party leader". BBC News. 30 June 2021. Retrieved 28 August 2021.
  104. ^ Durbin, Adam. "British Virgin Islands: Premier Andrew Fahie arrested in US drug sting". BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 29 April 2022.
  105. ^ "British Virgin Islands premier arrested on US drug charges". Miami Herald. 28 April 2022.
  106. ^ "Motion to remove Andrew Fahie as Premier passes in HOA". BVI News. 5 May 2022.
  107. ^ "British Virgin Islands: UK decides against direct rule of territory". BBC News. 8 June 2022. Retrieved 8 June 2022.
  108. ^ Clark, Alex; Butcher, Ben; Riddy, Bruno; Edgington, Oliver (10 May 2021). "Local election results 2021: how your council voted and how the numbers map across England". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  109. ^ "England local elections 2021 (Mayors) - BBC News". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  110. ^ "England local elections 2021 (Police and Crime Commissioners) - BBC News". BBC News. Archived from the original on 6 April 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  111. ^ "Welsh Parliament election 2021 (Police and Crime Commissioner results)". BBC News. Archived from the original on 16 April 2021. Retrieved 1 June 2021.
  112. ^ "Election results 2022: How the parties performed in maps and charts". BBC News. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 8 May 2022.



55°N 3°W / 55°N 3°W / 55; -3 (2020 in UK politics)