After all the fun and games of 2012 – what was 2013 going to be like…?
Overall, it turned out to be a year of social change, major changes to the economy and changes to the populations’ way of life.
In the first 3 months of the year:
A report was published called – “Giving Victims a Voice” initiated as a result of publicity surrounding the Jimmy Savile sexual abuse scandal.
During February the UK government announces plans to introduce a sugar tax on soft drinks.
They also announced plans to cap benefits payments for people who are unemployed or unable to work.
However, the government announced plans to introduce a new National Living Wage for over-25s.
With some good news for pensioners, the government announced plans to introduce a new National Insurance “triple lock” to protect the incomes of pensioners.
And bring in plans to introduce a new “bedroom tax” to reduce the amount of housing benefit that people can claim if they have more bedrooms than they need.
With more “cuts” to the welfare system, which will include changes to benefits for disabled people and single parents.
On the 8th April – former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher dies in London following a stroke.
Love her or loathe her, Baroness Thatcher was a very controversial figure, who was one of the last conviction politicians.
She was elected to Parliament in 1959, and retired from the House of Commons at the 1992 General Election.
Her battles with the Unions, the liberation of the Falkland Islands, the Cold War, and Northern Island will all be defined by the fact that Margaret Thatcher ruled the political scene of the 1980’s and 90’s.
She was awarded a ‘Ceremonial’ Funeral (17th April 2013) – one step down from a ‘State’ Funeral – with the Queen and Prince Philip attending.
On the 22nd May an event happened that shocked the nation – British Soldier Fusilier Lee Rigby, an off-duty drummer, serving with the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers was attacked and killed in the street by 2 men carrying knives and a meat cleaver.
The attack happened near the Woolwich Barracks in south east London. During an armed standoff, the two men were shot and arrested.
The government treated it as a Terrorist Attack. The men were sentenced to long terms in prison.
The 2013 Tour de France was the 100th edition of the greatest cycling race.
It started on the island of Corsica on 30 June and finished on the Champs-Élysées in Paris on 21 July.
The Tour consisted of twenty-one stages and covered a total distance of 3,403.5 km (2,115 mi).
The overall general classification was won by Chris Froome of Team Sky. The second year in a row that the race has been won by a British Rider.
Second and third respectively were Nairo Quintana (Movistar Team) and the Team Katusha rider Joaquim Rodríguez.
In July, the weather took a turn for the better, resulting in a heatwave, the first since 2006. The 3-week heatwave finished with violent thunderstorms at the end of the month. Although the hot weather it made a brief return at the beginning of August.
The most notable Birth of the Year, was HRH the Princess of Wales on the 22nd July – a boy – Prince George of Wales.
There were many deaths during the year, a few of the more interesting ones:
# 21st Jan – Michael Winner (77) Film Director, producer & food critic
# 3rd Feb – Peter Gilmore (81) Actor
# 17th Feb – Richard Briers (79) Actor
# 7th March – Kenny Ball (82) Jazz Musician
# 28th March – Richard Griffiths (65) Actor
# 8th April – Baroness Margaret Thatcher (87) Politician
# 12th July – Alan Whicker (87) Journalist & Broadcaster
# 19th July – Mel Smith (60) Comedian & Actor
# 31st Aug – Sir David Frost Journalist & Broadcaster
# 14th Dec – Peter O’Toole (81) Actor
2013 was a year of personal and political austerity, with the government hell-bent on taxing the population, and complaining about spending any money.
Not a year to be repeated.