1968 in the United Kingdom

Incumbents

• Monarch – Elizabeth II
• Prime Minister – Harold Wilson
• Parliament – 44th

  Events

January

• January – the Ford Escort car is introduced to replace the Anglia.
• 1 January – Cecil Day-Lewis is announced as the new Poet Laureate.
• 5 January – Gardeners' World debuts on BBC1 television, featuring Percy Thrower.
• 8 January – the Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, endorses the 'I'm Backing Britain' campaign, encouraging workers to work extra time without pay or take other actions to help competitiveness, which is spreading across Britain.
• 16 January – the Prime Minister announces that the Civil Defence Corps is being stood down.

  February

• 4 February – 96 Indians and Pakistanis arrive in Britain from Kenya. Some 1,500 Asians have now arrived in Britain from Kenya, where they were forced out by increasingly draconian immigration laws.
• 6–18 February – Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Winter Olympics in Grenoble, France, but do not win any medals.
• 14 February
• * Northampton, the county town of Northamptonshire, is designated as a New town, with the Wilson government hoping to double its size and population by 1980.
• * Constitutional law case of Padfield v Minister of Agriculture is decided in the House of Lords, determining that a minister's discretion to refuse an investigation is subject to judicial review where a refusal would frustrate the policy of an Act.
• 24 February – announcement of the first discovery of a pulsar by astronomer Jocelyn Bell Burnell working with Antony Hewish at the University of Cambridge.
• 26 February – Shelton Hospital fire: a fire at Shelton Mental Hospital, Shrewsbury, kills 21 patients.

  March

• 1 March
• * Commonwealth Immigrants Act 1968 further reduces right of entry for citizens from the British Commonwealth to the U.K.
• * First performance of an Andrew Lloyd Webber–Tim Rice musical, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat in its original form as a "pop cantata", by pupils of Colet Court preparatory school in Hammersmith.
• 2 March – coal mining in the Black Country, which played a big part in the Industrial Revolution, ends after some 300 years with the closure of Baggeridge Colliery near Sedgley.
• 12 March – Mauritius achieves independence from British Rule.
• 14 March – in the early hours, the Prime Minister convenes a meeting of the privy council to declare the following day a non-statutory bank holiday, allowing the government to suspend the London Gold Pool to stem the losses being suffered by the pound sterling. George Brown, the Foreign Secretary, apparently drunk, cannot be located in time for the meeting.
• 15 March – George Brown resigns from the government.
• 17 March – a demonstration in London's Grosvenor Square against U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War leads to violence – 91 police injured, 200 demonstrators arrested.

  April

• 1 April – Thames Valley Police is formed by the amalgamation of Berkshire Constabulary, Buckinghamshire Constabulary, Oxford City Police, Oxfordshire Constabulary and Reading Borough Police.
• 11 April – popularity of Harold Wilson's Labour government is shown to be slumping as opinion polls show the Conservatives, led by Edward Heath, with a lead of more than 20 points.
• 7 April – motor racing world champion Jim Clark, 32, is killed when his car leaves the track at 170 mph and smashes into a tree during a Formula 2 race at Hockenheim.
• 18 April – London Bridge sold to American entrepreneur Robert P. McCulloch, for £1,029,000, who rebuilds it at Lake Havasu City, Arizona.
• 20 April – Enoch Powell makes his controversial Rivers of Blood Speech on immigration.
• 21 April – Enoch Powell is dismissed from the Shadow Cabinet by Opposition leader Edward Heath due to the Rivers of Blood Speech, despite several opinion polls stating that the majority of the public shares Mr Powell's fears.
• 23 April – five and ten pence coins are introduced in the run-up to Decimalisation, which will be complete within the next three years.
• 27 April – the Abortion Act 1967 comes into effect, legalising abortion on a number of grounds, with free provision through the National Health Service.

  May

• 3 May – Mr Frederick West becomes Britain's first heart transplant patient.
• 8 May – the Kray Twins, 34-year-old Ronnie and Reggie, are among 18 men arrested in dawn raids across London. They stand accused of a series of crimes including murder, fraud, blackmail and assault. Their 41-year-old brother Charlie Kray is one of the other men under arrest.
• 11 May – Manchester City win the Football League First Division title.
• 16 May – Ronan Point tower block at Newham in east London collapses after a gas explosion, killing four occupants.
• 18 May – West Bromwich Albion win the FA Cup for the fifth time, with Jeff Astle scoring the only goal of the game against Everton at the Wembley Stadium.
• 22 May – the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland permits the ordination of women as ministers.
• 29 May – Manchester United become the first English winners of the European Cup after beating Benfica 4-1 in extra-time at Wembley Stadium.

  June

• 7 June – start of Ford sewing machinists strike at the Dagenham assembly plant: women workers strike for pay comparable to that of men.
• 8 June – James Earl Ray, Martin Luther King, Jr.'s killer, is arrested when he attempts to leave London at Heathrow Airport.
• 10 June – National Health Service reintroduces prescription charges.
• 18 June – Frederick West, Britain's first heart transplant patient, dies 46 days after his operation.
• 20 June – Austin Currie, Member of Parliament at Stormont in Northern Ireland, along with others, squats a house in Caledon to protest discrimination in housing allocations.

  July

• July – cotton trading at the Royal Exchange, Manchester, ceases.
• 1–2 July – July 1968 England and Wales dust fall storms.
• 4 July – Alec Rose returns from a 354-day single-handed round-the-world trip for which he receives a knighthood the following day.
• 10 July – floods in South West England.
• 17 July – The Beatles animated film Yellow Submarine debuts in London.
• 31 July – BBC sitcom Dad's Army is first aired on television.

  August

• 8 August – Royal Navy frigate is launched at Devonport, the last ship to be built in a Royal Dockyard.
• 11 August – British Rail's last steam train service runs on the standard gauge: steam locomotives make the return passenger journey from Liverpool to Carlisle before being dispatched to the scrapyard or preservation.
• 31 August – first Isle of Wight Festival.

  September

• September
• * The new school year in England sees the first local authorities adopt three tier education, where 5–7 infant, 7–11 junior schools are replaced by 5–8 or 5–9 first schools and 8–12 or 9–13 middle schools, with the transfer age to grammar and secondary modern schools being increased to 12 or 13.
• * Japanese car maker Nissan begins importing its range of Datsun badged family cars to Britain.
• 8 September – tennis player Virginia Wade wins the 1968 U.S. Open Women's Singles event.
• 15 September – floods in South East England.
• 16 September – General Post Office divides post into first-class and second-class services.
• 26 September – Theatres Act 1968 ends censorship of the theatre.
• 27 September – the US musical Hair opens in London following the removal of theatre censorship.

  October

• October – the M1 motorway is completed when the final 35-mile section opens between Rotherham and Leeds.
• 2 October – a woman from Birmingham gives birth to the first recorded instance of live Sextuplets in the UK.
• 5 October – a civil rights march in Derry, Northern Ireland, which includes several Stormont and British MPs, is batoned off the streets by the Royal Ulster Constabulary.
• 6 October – British racing drivers Jackie Stewart, Graham Hill and John Surtees take the first three places at the United States Grand Prix.
• 8 October – Enoch Powell warns that immigrants "may change the character" of England.
• 12–27 October – Great Britain and Northern Ireland compete at the Olympics in Mexico City and win 5 gold, 5 silver and 3 bronze medals.
• 13 October – the rebuilt Euston railway station opens.
• 18 October – National Giro opens for business through the General Post Office, with administrative headquarters at Bootle.
• 27 October – police and protestors clash at an anti-Vietnam War protest outside the Embassy of the United States in London.
• 31 October – Alan Bennett's play Forty Years On premiered at the Apollo Theatre in the West End.

  November

• 18 November – James Watt Street fire: A warehouse fire in Glasgow kills 22.
• 21 November – the Cyril Lord carpet business goes into receivership.
• 22 November – The Beatles and The Kinks Are the Village Green Preservation Society are released.
• 26 November – the Race Relations Act is passed, making it illegal to refuse housing, employment or public services to people in Britain because of their ethnic background.
• 29 November – the Dawley New Town Amendment Order extends the boundaries of Dawley New Town in Shropshire and renames it Telford.
• 30 November – the Trade Descriptions Act comes into force, preventing shops and traders from describing goods in a misleading way.

  December

• 17 December
• * Mary Bell, an 11-year-old girl from Newcastle upon Tyne, is sentenced to life detention for the manslaughter of two small boys.
• * Official opening of first phase of the Royal Mint's new Llantrisant plant in South Wales.

  Undated

• Japanese carmaker Nissan launches its Datsun badged range of cars onto the British market.

  Publications

• Agatha Christie's novel By the Pricking of My Thumbs.
• Arthur C. Clarke's novel .
• Lawrence Durrell's novel Tunc, first of The Revolt of Aphrodite pair.
• Paul Scott's novel The Day of the Scorpion, second of the Raj Quartet.
• John Wyndham's novel Chocky.

  Births

January – March

• 7 January – James Brokenshire, British Conservative politician and MP for Hornchurch
• 12 January – Heather Mills, British model, businesswoman and campaigner, wife of musician Sir Paul McCartney 2002–8
• 27 January
• *Matthew d'Ancona, British journalist, editor of The Spectator
• *Tricky, English rapper and musician
• 5 February – Lee Martin, footballer
• 16 February – Warren Ellis, British comic-book and graphic-novel writer
• 2 March – Daniel Craig, British actor
• 4 March – Patsy Kensit, English actress
• 5 March – Theresa Villiers, British Conservative politician and MP for Chipping Barnet
• 9 March – Maggie Aderin-Pocock, British scientist and science educator
• 18 March – Paul Marsden, British Labour/Liberal Democrat politician
• 20 March – Paul Merson, English footballer
• 21 March
• * Jaye Davidson, British actor
• * Gary Walsh, English Footballer
• 23 March
• * Damon Albarn, English musician
• * Mike Atherton, English cricketer
• 26 March – Chris Ward, British chess Grandmaster, chess coach and author
• 28 March – Nasser Hussain, English cricketer

  April – June

• 8 April – Jenny Powell, British television presenter
• 18 April – David Hewlett, British-born Canadian actor, writer and director
• 22 April – Amanda Mealing, British actress
• 23 April – Ricky Groves, English actor
• 28 April – Howard Donald, singer
• 4 May – Julian Barratt, English comedian and actor
• 8 May – Rachel Jordan, British artist
• 9 May – Ruth Kelly, British Labour politician, Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government 2006–7 and MP for Bolton West 1997–2010
• 10 May – William Regal, professional wrestler
• 12 May – Catherine Tate, comedian
• 27 May
• * Rebekah Brooks, journalist, editor of The Sun
• * Ekow Eshun, arts journalist and administrator
• 29 May
• * Torquhil Ian Campbell, 13th Duke of Argyll, Scottish peer
• * Jessica Morden, British Labour politician and MP for Newport East
• 2 June – John Culshaw, English comedian and impressionist
• 5 June – Edward Vaizey, British Conservative politician and MP for Wantage
• 7 June – Sarah Parish, English actress
• 13 June – Marcel Theroux, British novelist and broadcaster, son of American writer Paul Theroux
• 15 June – Samira Ahmed, journalist and broadcaster
• 26 June – Iwan Roberts, Welsh footballer
• 28 June – Adam Woodyatt, British actor

  July – September

• 5 July – Moazzam Begg, British Islamist held in extrajudicial detention in the US Guantanamo Bay detainment camp
• 20 July – Julian Rhind-Tutt, English film, television and radio actor
• 21 July – Gary O'Donnell, Scottish soldier
• 22 July – Rhys Ifans, Welsh actor
• 26 July – Olivia Williams, English actress
• 5 August – Colin McRae, Scottish rally driver
• 8 August – Julian Dicks, English footballer
• 14 August
• * Darren Clarke, Northern Irish golfer
• * Jane Couch, boxer
• * Adrian Lester, British actor
• 15 August – Kate Osamor, Labour Party politician
• 17 August – Helen McCrory, English actress
• 22 August – Elisabeth Murdoch, Australian-born business executive
• 26 August – Chris Boardman, English racing cyclist
• September – Angela Hartnett, chef
• 3 September – Achilleas Kallakis, fraudster
• 9 September
• * Anas Altikriti, British anti-war activist
• * Julia Sawalha, English actress
• 14 September – Grant Shapps, British Conservative politician and MP for Welwyn Hatfield
• 20 September – Philippa Forrester, British TV presenter
• 28 September – Naomi Watts, English-born actress
• 29 September – Luke and Matt Goss, twin brother singers, members of Bros

  October – December

• 1 October – Mark Durden-Smith, British television presenter
• 2 October – Victoria Derbyshire, British Radio presenter
• 3 October – Paul Crichton, English footballer
• 4 October – Beverley Allitt, British serial killer of children
• 7 October – Thom Yorke, British singer/songwriter
• 10 October – Chris Ofili, English painter
• 14 October
• * Matthew Le Tissier, English footballer
• * Roger Moorhouse, British historian and author
• 27 October – Martin Clark, English snooker player
• 10 November – Steve Brookstein, British singer
• 18 November – Barry Hunter, Northern Irish footballer and football manager
• 22 November – Andrew Gilligan, British journalist
• 20 December – Phil Andrews, British race car driver
• 23 December – Siôn Simon, British Labour politician and MP for Birmingham Erdington
• 28 December – Pauline Robertson, Scottish field hockey player

  Unknown dates

• Sonita Alleyne, Barbados-born media production company executive and college principal
• Julian Baggini, philosopher
• Andrew O'Hagan, Scottish writer and novelist
• Carl Sargeant, Welsh politician

  Deaths

January – March

• 27 January – Maxwell Knight, spymaster and naturalist
• 6 February – Gomer Berry, 1st Viscount Kemsley, Welsh journalist
• 17 February – Sir Donald Wolfit, actor-manager
• 20 February – Anthony Asquith, director and writer

  April – June

• 7 April – Jim Clark, Scottish race car driver
• 3 May – Ness Edwards, Welsh politician
• 7 May – Mike Spence, English race car driver
• 11 May – Frederick Bellenger, English politician, Secretary of State for War
• 29 May – Sir Stewart Menzies, chief of the British Secret Intelligence Service
• 21 June – Captain W. E. Johns, aviator and writer, creator of Biggles
• 24 June – Tony Hancock, English comedian

  July – September

• 9 July – Sir Alexander Cadogan, diplomat
• 13 July – R. J. Yeatman, humorist
• 16 July – William Evans, Welsh-language poet
• 23 July – Henry Hallett Dale, English scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• 19 August – George Gamow, Ukrainian-born physicist
• 27 August – Princess Marina, Duchess of Kent
• 12 September – Tommy Armour, Scottish golfer

  October – December

• 13 October – Stanley Unwin, publisher
• 20 October – Bud Flanagan, comedian and singer
• 17 November – Mervyn Peake, writer and illustrator
• 28 November – Enid Blyton, children's writer
• 14 December – David James Jones, Welsh-language poet