1 January – Possession of heroin becomes fully criminalised.[1]
4 January – Eight months after winning the General Election and barely a year after becoming Prime Minister, Anthony Eden's position is looking under threat as opinion polls show Labour (now led by Hugh Gaitskell) are in the lead.[2]
24 January – Plans are announced for the construction of thousands of new homes in the Barbican area of London, devastated by the Luftwaffe during the Second World War.[3]
17 February – The Midlands becomes the first region outside of London to receive ITV when ATV Midlands begins broadcasting; ABC, the weekend station, launches the following day.
10 March – Fairey Aviationtest pilotPeter Twiss sets a new airspeed record in the Fairey Delta 2, also becoming the first person to exceed 1,000mph (1,610km/h) in level flight. His top speed is 1,132mph (1,821km/h), 310mph (499km/h) in excess of the previous (US) record.
In his Budget speech, Chancellor of the Exchequer Harold Macmillan announces the launch of Premium Bonds which will go on sale on 1 November, with a £1,000 prize available from the first draw in June next year.[13]
19 April – DiverLionel Crabb (working for MI6) dives into Portsmouth Harbour to investigate visiting Soviet cruiser Ordzhonikidze and vanishes during a state visit by Nikita Khrushchev and Nikolai Bulganin. On 9 May, Anthony Eden who had refused permission for the operation, makes a statement refusing to reveal any details surrounding the mystery of Crabb's disappearance.[14]
7 May – Minister of HealthRobin Turton rejects a call for the government to lead an anti-smoking campaign, arguing that no ill-effects have yet been proven.[18]
10 July – A private member's bill to abolish the death penalty is vetoed in the House of Lords; however, no capital punishment is carried out in the UK this year.
31 July – Jim Laker sets a record by taking 19 wickets in a first class cricket match, at Old Trafford in the fourth Test between England and Australia.
17 August – Scotland Yard are called to Eastbourne to investigate the activities of society doctor John Bodkin Adams. The case is reported around the world and press reports claim up to 400 patients may have been murdered.[28]
10 September – Guy Mollet visits London and proposes a merger of France and the United Kingdom. However, the idea is rejected by Anthony Eden.[30]
12 September – Manchester United become the first English team to compete in the European Cup, a competition for the champions of domestic leagues across Europe, when they play the first leg of the preliminary round in Belgium and beat R.S.C. Anderlecht 2–0.[31]
25 September – The TAT-1 transatlantic telephone cable between the UK and North America is inaugurated.[8]
26 September – Manchester United qualify for the first round of the European Cup in style with a 10–0 win over R.S.C. Anderlecht at Maine Road in the second leg of the preliminary round.[32]
28 September – Anthony Eden considers allowing France to join the Commonwealth of Nations, but this idea is also rejected.[30]
17 October – The Queen opens the world's first commercial nuclear power station at Calder Hall.[34]
24 October – Protocol of Sèvres, a secret agreement between the UK, France and Israel allowing the latter to invade Sinai with the support of the two former governments. Anthony Eden subsequently denies existence of an agreement.[35]
The long-running television programme What the Papers Say airs for the first time on ITV.[8]
6 November – British and French forces seize control of two major ports in the Suez Canal in Egypt before declaring a ceasefire.[36]
9 November – At the Lord Mayor's Show in London, the first AEC Routemaster forms part of the procession, advertised as "London's Bus of the Future".[6]
15 November – The Manchester Guardian calls for the resignation of Anthony Eden as Prime Minister, despite his improvement in opinion poll showings.
↑ Warwick, Neil; Kutner, Jon; Brown, Tony (2004). The Complete Book of the British Charts: Singles and Albums (3rded.). London: Omnibus Press. ISBN978-1-84449-058-5.
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