Events from 2019 in England
Incumbent
Events
January
1 January
A ban on the purchasing of fax machines by the NHS in England, as part of a government plan to phase them out entirely by March 2020 commences. A new energy price cap has now come into effect for households in England, Scotland and Wales. Ofgem, the energy supply regulator, has estimated that it would save 11 million people an average of £76 a year if they stay on the same tariff. Data from the regulator also shows that the cap could lead to households being more than £200 per year worse off because of the reduction in the number of customers shopping around because of the cap. 2 January – Missed GP appointments 'cost NHS England £216m'. 4 January – The engineering arm of collapsed Monarch Airlines falls into administration, with the loss of 450 jobs. 7 January – a 10-year plan for England's National Health Service is unveiled by NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens and prime minister Teresa May. 17 January – The 97-year-old Duke of Edinburgh, Prince Philip is involved in a car crash while driving near the Queen's Sandringham estate. He is unhurt, "but very, very shocked and shaken". 22 January – The UK café chain Patisserie Valerie collapses into administration after rescue talks with banks fail. 29 January – Labour MP for Peterborough Fiona Onasanya is sentenced to three months imprisonment having earlier been found guilty of perverting the course of justice for lying about who was driving her car when caught speeding. Her imprisonment makes her the first sitting MP to be jailed in 28 years.
February
5 February – HMV has been acquired out of administration by Canadian retailer Sunrise Records, safeguarding the future of nearly 1,500 staff. 7 February The Office for National Statistics reports that knife crime in England and Wales is at its highest level since records began in 1946, with the number of fatal stabbings the previous year being the most ever reported. The British Horseracing Authority (BHA) cancels all horse racing in Great Britain until at least 13 February after an outbreak of equine influenza. A body is recovered from the wreckage of the PA-46 Malibu which vanished over the English Channel on 21 January. Dorset Police later identify it as that of Emiliano Sala. 13 February – Ford reveals it is preparing to move its car engine production out of Britain, as a result of Brexit disruption, putting thousands of jobs at risk. 18 February Seven MPs – Chuka Umunna, Luciana Berger, Chris Leslie, Angela Smith, Mike Gapes, Gavin Shuker and Ann Coffey – announce that they have resigned from the Labour Party to form The Independent Group. Plans by Japanese carmaker Honda to close its Swindon factory by 2022 are leaked to the press, a day before the official announcement. 19 February – MP Joan Ryan resigns from the Labour Party to join The Independent Group. 20 February Three Conservative Party MPs – Heidi Allen, Sarah Wollaston and Anna Soubry – resign from their party to join The Independent Group. 22 February – Dudley North MP Ian Austin resigns from the Labour Party and claims the party has failure to tackle antisemitism, but says he has no plans to join the Independent Group. 23 February Health Secretary Matt Hancock tells the NHS to stop using pagers for communications, calling them "outdated" and stating his wish to get rid of "archaic technology like pagers and fax machines" within the NHS by 2021. Roy Hodgson becomes the oldest man to manage in the Premier League, at the age of 71 years and 198 days.
March
6 March – Following what she characterised as a spate of knife murders involving young people around England, the chair of the National Police Chiefs' Council, Sara Thornton, calls for the situation to be treated as a national emergency. 19 March – The head of the Environment Agency, Sir James Bevan warned that England will not have enough water to meet demand within 25 years and the impact of climate change, combined with population growth, means the country is facing an "existential threat" at the Waterwise Conference.