1972 in the United Kingdom
Events from the year 1972 in the United Kingdom. Incumbents Monarch – Elizabeth II Prime Minister – Edward Heath (Conservative) Parliament – 45th Events January 4 January – Rose Heilbron becomes the first female judge to sit at the Old Bailey. 9 January – The National Union of Mineworkers holds a strike ballot in which 58.8% vote in favour of industrial action. Coal miners begin a strike which will last for seven weeks, including picketing of Saltley coke depot in Birmingham. 19 January – The government announces the lifting of all restrictions on broadcasting hours on television and radio. Daytime television hours will be extended in October. 20 January – Unemployment exceeds the 1,000,000 mark for the first time since the 1930s, almost double the 582,000 who were unemployed when Edward Heath's Conservative government came to power less than two years ago. 30 January – 'Bloody Sunday' in Northern Ireland: fourteen Catholics are killed when troops open fire on unarmed demonstrators in Derry. February 2 February – Burning of the British Embassy in Dublin: Anti-British riots take place throughout Ireland. The Embassy of the United Kingdom in Merrion Square, Dublin, is burned to the ground, as are several British-owned businesses.