Timeline of Great Britain

Edward Heath- 1978-1989


4 March 1982: Following pressure from the Labour Party and Liberal Party, Edward Heath held a referendum in Wales on the issue of devolution. By a slim 52% margin, the Welsh population voted to accept a Scottish-style Welsh Assembly with the first elections to the Welsh Assembly to be held in early May.

7 May 1982: Having resigned his seat as an MP, Michael Foot led the Welsh Labour Party into a landslide victory in the inaugural elections to the Welsh Assembly. Many Conservatives had boycotted the inaugural election in opposition to devolution.

12 August 1984: First Minister of Wales Michael Foot allows his Labour Party membership to lapse. Despite initial confusion, Foot declares before the Welsh Assembly that he had lost confidence in the direction of the Labour Party, claiming he heavily disagreed with the militant trotskyists who had heavily rooted themselves into the party establishment. The next day Plaid Cymru invited him to join their party to which he accepted.

12 October 1985: King Victor is assassinated by Irish Republican Terrorists at the Grand Brighton Hotel. Also killed were four of the King’s aides. Prince James ascended to the throne as King James III and was coronated on Christmas Day. The Irish Taoiseach condemned the King’s assassination, giving a tearful address on British television.