2021 Year in Review: A third national lockdown, and a nation mourns two great men

After the socially distanced exchange of Christmas gifts, and Auld Lang Syne completed strictly with members of a dedicated household or support bubble, by the start of the year the enforced habits of the Covid-19 pandemic still felt unusual to many nine months in. Here is what happened in the first months of 2021:
Handout photo issued by Keighley Town CouncilHandout photo issued by Keighley Town Council
Handout photo issued by Keighley Town Council

January

After a chaotic December of regional tiers and festive bubbles, January brought another national lockdown to try and curb the spread of coronavirus across the country.

In an address to the nation from Downing Street, Boris Johnson told the country that “the weeks ahead will be the hardest yet, but I really do believe that we are entering the last phase of the struggle”, telling people to stay home and outlawing social contact for the third time in less than 12 months.

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Schools were closed having opened for just one day of the new term but some hope was offered through the increasing vaccination rollout.

Storm Christoph arrived, with swathes of northern and central England subjected to heavy rain and winds.

A major emergency incident was declared in South Yorkshire and flood defences were erected to protect against the rising waters.

However, the wet weather gave way to ice and snow by the end of the month, with widespread temperatures below freezing for a prolonged period.

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Eventually, January 2021 was declared the coldest month the UK had seen in a decade, with an average temperature of just 2.2c.

Joe Biden became US President at the age of 78 - weeks after Donald Trump supporters dramatically stormed the Capitol building in an attempt to overturn the election result.

Five people died as a result of the siege, including one Trump supporter who was shot by police and a Capitol police officer.

February

At the end of February, the Prime Minister laid out the country’s roadmap out of lockdown, which was promised as “a route back to a more normal life”.

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It was announced that schools and colleges would return to face to face teaching just two weeks later on March 8, with testing for teachers and older pupils to try and stem the spread of infection in the classroom.

The nation mourned Keighley-born centenarian and fundraiser extraordinaire Captain Sir Tom Moore after his death on February 2.

Captain Sir Tom’s fundraising efforts raised more than £32m for the NHS when he walked 100 laps of his garden before his 100th birthday in April 2020, and he remained an inspiration in the months which followed.

He went on to have a Number 1 single and opened the NHS Nightingale Hospital in Harrogate in the weeks following his milestone birthday, before being knighted in a special event at Windsor Castle.

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Housing Secretary Robert Jenrick was accused of a “betrayal” of hundreds of thousands of leaseholders after he unveiled a new £3.5 billion package to end the “cladding scandal” highlighted by the Grenfell Tower fire.

Mr Jenrick said the “exceptional” intervention means no leaseholders in high-rise blocks in England will face charges for the removal of unsafe cladding.

But his announcement drew a furious response, with critics – including some Tories – warning it fails to address the problems faced by residents living in unsellable flats in unsafe blocks.

March

The first steps on a return to normality were undertaken on March 8, with schools and colleges reopened for millions of pupils across the country.

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The nation was united in shock after serving police officer Wayne Couzens was charged with the murder of Sarah Everard, a young woman raised in York who had gone missing from her home in South London.

On March 3, Ms Everard, who grew up in York, had not returned home after visiting a friend a short distance away. Her body was found in Kent on March 10 and Couzens was charged on March 12.

A vigil held in Ms Everard’s memory on Clapham Common sparked controversy when the Metropolitan Police was accused of using heavy handed tactics against women who attended, making arrests for apparent breach of lockdown restrictions,

Ms Everard’s murder galvanised concerns over women’s safety, with vigils held in her memory as well as protests highlighting the dangers which women face and the measures they are forced to take to try and keep safe.

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The Chancellor was accused of looking like ‘Scrooge Sunak’ after unveiling the biggest tax-raising Budget in 28 years.

The Institute for Fiscal Studies said Rishi Sunak was largely funding a mammoth £50 billion squeeze by freezing income tax allowances and hiking corporation tax in “screeching U-turns on Conservative policy”.

The IFS warned that Mr Sunak’s spending plans to help address the UK’s battered public finances “do not look deliverable” and further tax rises may be needed.

April

On April 9, it was announced that Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, had died aged 99.

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In one of the most haunting and poignant images of the year, and the entire pandemic, the Queen sat alone at the funeral of the man who had been by her side for more than seven decades.

The guestlist for the funeral, although short, was formed of the Duke and Queen’s closest family, including their children and grandchildren, and a number of close confidents.

Philip’s children – the Prince of Wales, Princess Royal, Duke of York and Earl of Wessex – walked behind his coffin, which was carried by a Land Rover Defender hearse he helped design.

They were joined by the Duke’s grandsons, the Duke of Sussex, Duke of Cambridge and Peter Phillips, and Vice Admiral Tim Lawrence, the Princess Royal’s husband, and the Queen’s nephew the Earl of Snowdon.

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Six English clubs – Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham – shocked the world of football by announcing in a joint statement they were to join a new European Super League.

But the plan was in tatters within 48 hours after a furious reaction from fans, pundits and politicians, with Boris Johnson warning the Government would leave “no action off the table” to prevent the league from going ahead.

Boris Johnson was accused of telling aides he would rather let coronavirus “rip” than impose a second lockdown, in the latest allegation levelled at the Prime Minister.

He was reported to have argued during a Government debate in September 2020 that lockdowns were “mad” as he raised concerns about the economic harm they cause.

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The allegation surfaced after a growing number of sources were reported to have told how Mr Johnson said he was prepared to let “bodies pile high” rather than order a third shutdown.

The Prime Minister said that allegation was “total rubbish” and Downing Street described the claims as “gross distortions” of Mr Johnson’s position.