A YEAR IN REVIEW

YearA

IN

BY KATIE CAMPBELL

Another year has gone by, marked with turmoil and trouble at home and around the world. A new monarch sits on the throne, multiple new prime ministers decided to have a go at running the country, we entered the downward spiral of a cost of living crisis which disproportionately affects disabled, chronically ill and neurodivergent people, and we wait with bated breath in hopes that Putin will get a grip and leave Ukraine. It’s been…a year. Let’s recap.

JANUARY

10 Remember Partygate? The Met Police decided on this day to contact the government about all of the rules that they broke so they could have a knees-up in the Downing Street garden the year previous. PM-of-the-moment Boris Johnson declines to say whether he attended. 12 BoJo confirms during Prime Minister’s Questions that he did, in fact, attend said booze up, having convinced absolutely no-one for the last two days that he hadn’t been there. He offers his “heartfelt” apologies. Yeah. Thanks for that.

FEBRUARY

06 Queen Elizabeth becomes the first British monarch to celebrate 70 years on the throne, with Platinum Jubilee celebrations taking place later in the year, and spawning the truly awful term “Platty Joobs”. 24 After weeks of speculation, Russia illegally invades Ukraine, causing the displacement of millions and the loss of thousands of lives.

MARCH

15 A T-shaped electricity pylon is installed on the national grid. This is the first newly-designed pylon since 1927! Can you tell we’re desperately trying to find good things that happened this year and struggling? No? Ok!

31 The free lateral flow test scheme ends in England, adding a degree of inaccessibility to people who need lateral flows to keep themselves safe as COVID is still very much a dangerous thing that exists.

APRIL

01 The energy cap rises by a staggering 54%, with disabled, chronically ill and neurodivergent people being disproportionately affected by the decision, something which will happen continuously throughout 2022. 19 Prime Minister apologises to parliament after getting a fixed penalty notice, becoming the first sitting PM in history to have been found to have broken the law, saying he didn’t realise he’d broken the rules, despite getting on the TV every other night for a year to remind the rest of us about the rules.

MAY

14 The UK comes second in Eurovision. Not only did we finish with more than nil points as we usually do, we came second. The UK’s entry Sam Ryder performed a miracle. 24 The Elizabeth Line opens in London. Campaigning from disabled activists, including Transport for All, ensured that all 41 stations along the line have step-free access. 24 Partygate update: the BBC’s Panorama shows that during the Downing Street party, people sat on each other’s laps and mocked people who were anxious about catching COVID. Great!

JUNE

02 The UK celebrates the Platinum Jubilee with street parties, and official events at the Palace. The Queen announces she won’t attend the Service of Thanksgiving as she was in discomfort during the Red Arrows’ flypast, adding to concerns around her health.

21 Strike action begins on the railways in order to secure what their union calls safety-critical roles across the network and raise wages in line with inflation.

JULY

05 Strap in, because this is where it all goes mega pear-shaped for the government. The crisis begins with Sajid Javid, Rishi Sunak, among countless others, resign from their posts over the next day or two, citing concerns with the government. 07 Boris Johnson announces his resignation as the leader of the Conservative Party, prompting a leadership contest to begin. 19 Heatwaves begin across the UK, with temperatures going above 40°C for the first time, which should worry people on an island known for being cold and rainy all the time, honestly.

AUGUST

08 The 2022 Commonwealth Games, held this year in Birmingham, finishes, with this year’s event seeing the largest para-sport program ever seen at the Games. 26 Ofcom announces the most astronomical rise in energy prices thus far, with the price cap set to rise from £1971 to £3549, a rise of 80%. The government promises that help is coming, but many remain sceptical.

SEPTEMBER

05 Liz Truss beats out Rishi Sunak to become leader of the Conservatives. While Rishi was probably disappointed, he didn’t have to be for very long. 08 Queen Elizabeth II passes away at 96, and the nation entered a period of mourning to reflect on their loss.

23 Truss’ Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng delivers an emergency budget to parliament that is so poorly received it tanks the pound, is criticised by the International Monetary Fund, and results in the Bank of England purchasing £65 billion of government bonds. Everything was going just… amazing. Spectacular.

OCTOBER

20 Liz Truss steps down as prime minister after 45 days, securing her place as the answer to the pub quiz question “which prime minister served for the shortest length of time” for the foreseeable future.

24 Rishi Sunak becomes the next leader of the Conservatives after Penny Mordaunt drops out and Boris Johnson frightens everyone by saying he fancies another shot at being PM.

NOVEMBER

01 The entire country temporarily unites as former health secretary Matt Hancock joins I’m A Celebrity in the vain hope they might be able to get him to eat a kangaroo anus as part of the famed Bush Tucker Trials 18 England beat France 28-24 to win the Wheelchair Rugby League Cup in a nail-bitingly close game. The tournament was delayed by a year due to the ongoing pandemic.

DECEMBER

12 So we write this in November, and our crystal ball is currently in the shop getting a polish. We’re not sure what’s happening in December. Maybe we all get a nice wee compliment this day? That would be nice. Hopefully the Prime Minister is still the same person. Imagine if we missed out on that.