Events from the year 1971 in the United Kingdom. The year was marked by the introduction of decimal currency.
January
- 1 January – The Divorce Reform Act 1969 came into effect in England and Wales, allowing couples to divorce after a separation of two years (five if only one of them agrees). A divorce can also be granted on the grounds that the marriage has irretrievably broken down, and it is not essential for either partner to prove "fault".[1] It was revealed on 19 January 1972 that the number of divorces in the United Kingdom during 1971 exceeded 100,000 for the first time.
- 2 January – Ibrox disaster: a stairway crush at the Rangers vs. Celtic football match at Ibrox Stadium in Glasgow killed 66 and left many more injured.[2]
- 3 January – BBC Open University broadcasts began.
- 8 January – Tupamaros kidnapped Geoffrey Jackson, British ambassador to Uruguay, in Montevideo; they kept him captive until September.
- 12 January – The Hertfordshire house of Robert Carr, Secretary of State for Employment, was bombed. Nobody was injured.[3] On 14 January, "The Angry Brigade", an extremist group, admitted responsibility for this bombing, as well as planting a bomb at the Department of Employment offices at Westminster.
- 20 January – The first ever postal workers' strike took place, led by UPW General Secretary Tom Jackson, in an attempt to win a 19.5% pay rise.
- 21 January – After collapsing in March 1969, a newly reconstructed Emley Moor transmitter in West Yorkshire started transmitting again. Now a concrete tower, at 1084 feet (330.4m), it is the United Kingdom's tallest freestanding structure.
- 23 January – The first Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting, in Singapore, gave the United Kingdom permission to sell weapons to South Africa.[4]
March
- 1 March
- An estimated 120,000 to 250,000 "kill the bill" protesters went on strike against the 1971 Industrial Relations Act in London.[9]
- The Vehicle & General insurance company collapsed leaving 500,000 motorists uninsured.[10]
- 7 March – Following the recent protests in London, some 10,000 striking workers protested in Glasgow against the Industrial Relations Bill.
- 8 March – The national postal workers' strike ended after 47 days. Among alternatives privately offered during the strike was the Vectis postal service.[11]
April
- 1 April – The United Kingdom lifted all restrictions on gold ownership with the Exchange Control (Gold Coins Exemption) Order 1971.[12] Since 1966 British citizens had been banned from holding more than four gold coins or from buying any new ones unless they held a licence.
- 11 April – Ten British Army soldiers were injured in rioting in Derry, Northern Ireland.
- 15 April – The planned Barbican Centre in London was given the go-ahead.
- 18 April – There was a serious fire at Kentish Town West railway station. The station remained closed until 5 October 1981.
- 19 April – Unemployment reached a post-Second World War high of nearly 815,000.
- 27 April
- Eight members of the Welsh Language Society went on trial for destroying English language road signs in Wales.[13]
- British Leyland launched the Morris Marina which succeeded the Minor (a smaller model, production of which ceased after 23 years with 1.6 million sold) and Oxford models and was similar in size to the Ford Cortina (to which it had been designed as a direct competitor), Vauxhall Victor and Hillman Hunter. It had 1.3 and 1.8 litre petrol engines, rear-wheel drive and a choice of four-door family saloon and two-door coupé body styles, with a five-door estate set to follow in the next two years.[14]
June
- 7 June – The children's show Blue Peter buried a time capsule in the grounds of BBC Television Centre, due to be opened on the first episode of the year 2000.
- 14 June
- 15 June
- Several Labour run councils threatened to increase rates in order to continue the free supply of milk to school children aged over seven years, in reaction to Thatcher's plans to end free milk supply to school children of that age group. Thatcher defended her plans, saying that the change would free more money to be spent on the construction of new school buildings.[18]
- Upper Clyde Shipbuilders entered liquidation.[19]
- 20 June – The United Kingdom announced that Soviet space scientist Anatoli Fedoseyev had been granted asylum.
- 21 June – The United Kingdom began new negotiations for EEC membership in Luxembourg.
- 24 June – The EEC agreed terms for the United Kingdom's proposed membership and it was hoped that the nation will join the EEC next year.
- 25–27 June – The first Reading Festival "of jazz and progressive music" took place.
August
- 6 August – Chay Blyth became the first person to sail around the world east to west against the prevailing winds.[25]
- 9 August – British security forces in Northern Ireland detained hundreds of guerrilla suspects and put them into Long Kesh prison – the beginning of an internment without trial policy. Twenty died in the riots that followed, including 11 in the Ballymurphy Massacre.[26]
- 11 August – Prime Minister Edward Heath participated in the British victory in the Admiral's Cup yacht race.[6]
- 14 August – The Who released their critically acclaimed album Who's Next.
- 15 August – Showjumper Harvey Smith was stripped of his victory in the British Show Jumping Derby by judges for making a V sign.[27]
January – March
- January – Katharine Viner, editor-in-chief, The Guardian
- 1 January – Andre Marriner, football referee
- 12 January – Jay Burridge, artist and television presenter
- 15 January – Lara Cazalet, actress
- 20 January – Gary Barlow, singer[45]
- 21 January – Alan McManus, Scottish snooker player
- 23 January
- 29 January – Clare Balding, broadcaster, journalist and author
- 30 January – Darren Boyd, actor
- 31 January – Patrick Kielty, Northern Irish comedian and television presenter
- 2 February – Michelle Gayle, singer and actress
- 3 February
- 11 February – Damian Lewis, English actor
- 13 February – Sonia, English pop singer
- 16 February
- 23 February – Melinda Messenger, television presenter and model
- 24 February – Nicky Hambleton-Jones, television presenter and fashion expert
- 27 February – Derren Brown, illusionist
- 1 March – Thomas Adès, English classical composer, pianist and conductor
- 3 March – Charlie Brooker, English satirist
- 6 March
- 7 March – Rachel Weisz, actress
- 13 March – Joey Beauchamp, footballer (died 2022)
- 15 March – Jason Wilcox, football player and manager
- 19 March – Dean Smith, football player and manager
- 23 March
- 27 March – David Coulthard, Scottish racing driver
- 28 March – Sayeeda Warsi, Baroness Warsi, politician and lawyer
- 31 March
April – June
- 2 April – Jason Lewry, cricketer
- 3 April – Douglas Carswell, Conservative politician and MP for Harwich
- 11 April – John Leech, Liberal Democrat politician, shadow transport spokesperson, and MP for Manchester Withington
- 15 April – Kate Harbour, voice actress
- 16 April – Belinda Stewart-Wilson, actress
- 17 April – Claire Sweeney, actress
- 18 April
- 24 April – Adrian Simpson, television presenter
- 9 May
- 10 May – Simon Jack, journalist and broadcaster
- 17 May – Vernie Bennett, singer (Eternal)
- 21 May – Kevin Fong, doctor and broadcaster
- 23 May – George Osborne, Conservative politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and MP for Tatton
- 24 May – Emily Hamilton, actress
- 27 May
- 30 May – Shaun Bailey, Baron Bailey of Paddington, politician
- 3 June – Julian Sturdy, politician
- 5 June – Susan Lynch, Northern Irish actress
- 11 June
- 18 June – Nigel Owens, rugby union referee
- 20 June – Brandon Lewis, English lawyer and politician
- 22 June – Gary Connolly, English rugby player
- 25 June
- 28 June – Sean Dyche, English football player and manager
July – September
- 1 July – Rosie Duffield, English politician
- 8 July – Neil Jenkins, Welsh rugby player[47]
- 14 July – Howard Webb, English football referee
- 2 August
- 9 August – Kate Gerbeau, television presenter and newsreader
- 18 August - Aphex Twin (Richard D. James), Irish-born electronic music artist
- 20 August – David Walliams, comedian, actor and television personality
- 21 August – Liam Howlett, musician
- 26 August – Gaynor Faye, actress
- 29 August – Nicola Mendelsohn, business executive
- 31 August – Kirstie Allsopp, television presenter
- 1 September – Daniel Hannan, British Conservative politician, MEP for South East England
- 8 September – Martin Freeman, actor
- 11 September
- 13 September
- 17 September – Parmjit Dhanda, British Labour politician, MP for Gloucester
- 22 September – Chesney Hawkes, English singer-songwriter
- 24 September – Es Devlin, set designer
- 25 September – Jessie Wallace, actress
- 28 September – Liza Walker, actress
- 29 September – Mackenzie Crook, English actor
October – December
- 8 October – David Gauke, Lord Chancellor
- 13 October – Sacha Baron Cohen, British comedian
- 14 October – Andy Cole, English footballer
- 16 October – Craig Phillips, British reality show star, winner of Big Brother UK in 2000
- 21 October – Jade Jagger, jewellery designer
- 29 October – Lee Mason, football referee
- 30 October – John Alford, British actor and singer
- 3 November – Alison Williamson, archer[48]
- 8 November – Michael Jeffrey, English footballer
- 17 November – Michael Adams, chess player
- 18 November – Thérèse Coffey, politician
- 22 November
- 1 December – Emily Mortimer, actress
- 5 December – Ashia Hansen, triple jumper
- 7 December – DeObia Oparei, actor
- 14 December – Lucie Stewart, British actress
- 10 December – Daniel Betts, actor
- 23 December – Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, British socialite and television presenter (died 2017)
- 25 December – Dido, English pop singer
- 27 December – Duncan Ferguson, football player and manager
Undated
- Edith Garrud, pioneer martial artist and suffragist (born 1872)
Beckett, Andy (2009). When the Lights Went Out: Britain in the Seventies. London: Faber. p. 59. ISBN 978-0-571-22136-3.
"Insurer Fails in Britain; 500000 Drivers Affected". The New York Times. 2 March 1971.
Joseph Whitaker (1993). An Almanack for the Year of Our Lord. J. Whitaker. p. 612.
"Provisional liquidator is appointed for Upper Clyde Shipbuilders". The Times. No. 58200. London. 16 June 1971. p. 18.
Green, Oliver (1988). The London Underground - An Illustrated History. Ian Allan. p. 59. ISBN 0-7110-1720-4.
Murray, Ian (31 July 1971). "Workers seize control of shipyard on the Clyde". The Times. No. 58238. London. p. 1.
Davies, Glyn (1996). A History of Money from ancient times to the present day (rev. ed.). Cardiff: University of Wales Press. ISBN 0-7083-1351-5.
Warner, David (2011). The Yorkshire County Cricket Club: 2011 Yearbook (113th ed.). Ilkley, Yorkshire: Great Northern Books. p. 369. ISBN 978-1-905080-85-4.
"Neil Jenkins". Welsh Rugby Union. Archived from the original on 20 July 2008. Retrieved 23 March 2023.{{cite web}}
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Connolly, Martin (2017). Hitler's Munich Man: The Fall of Sir Admiral Barry Domvile. Barnsley: Pen & Sword. ISBN 978-1526707079.