This article looks at some of the biggest political highlights of 2021. From the UK and around the world, 2021 was a huge year for political events.
January
- 6th January: The UK returns into lockdown for the third time.
- 6th January: The US Capitol riot sees supporters of Donald Trump disrupt the certification of the 2020 presidential election in an act of domestic terror. Five people died.
- 20th January: Joe Biden is inaugurated as the 46th President of the United States.
- 22nd January: The Treaty of the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons comes into force.
- 29th January: The EU invoke Article 16 of the Northern Ireland protocol regarding a row over COVID-19 vaccines. This is condemned by the international community before being reversed.
February
- 1st February: Aung San Suu Kyi, the Myanmar Head of State, is removed by a coup d’état.
- 19th February: The USA officially rejoins the Paris Climate Agreement.
March
- 23rd March: The Ever Given ship gets stuck in the Suez Canal, disrupting global trade.
April
- 18th April: The European Super League is announced, featuring twelve football clubs (including six from the UK). The move sparks widespread outrage.
- 22nd April: Earth Day is marked by a virtual climate conference with leaders promising more ambitious greenhouse gas emission targets.
- 24th April: 1 billion COVID-19 vaccines are given.
- 28th April: The EU approves the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement.
- 30th April: 45 people are killed in a crush at a religious festival on Mount Meron, Israel.
May
- 6th May: Hartlepool elects their first Conservative MP since its creation.
- 10th May: The Israel-Palestine crisis of 2021 begins, with Israel hitting the Gaza Strip with airstrikes in retaliation to Hamas rocket fire.
- 22nd May: The Eurovision Song Contest is held for the first time in two years, uniting participants from 39 countries in a night of music.
- 23rd May: A Ryanair flight is forcibly diverted to Minsk, Belarus and opposition leader Roman Protasevich is arrested by Belarusian officials.
- 24th May: A coup d’état in Mali reinstates military rule.
June
- 5th June: The G7 agrees to set a minimum global corporation tax of 15%.
- 11th June: The Euro 2020 final is held in Wembley, with Italy beating England on penalties.
- 13th June: The longest serving Prime Minister in Israel’s history, Benjamin Netanyahu, is voted out of office.
- 17th June: The Chesham and Amersham by-election sees the Liberal Democrats gain the safe Conservative seat.
July
- 19th July: all remaining coronavirus restrictions in England end.
- 23rd July: The 2020 Summer Olympics open in Tokyo.
August
- 4th August: Belarusian sprinter Krystsina Tsimanouskaya is given political asylum by Poland after Belarus attempted to forcibly return her to Minsk.
- 14th August: A 7.2 magnitude earthquake kills 2,100 people in Haiti.
- 15th August: The Taliban takeover control of Kabul, meaning Afghanistan is now under Taliban control.
- 26th August: 182 people are killed after a suicide bombing by an ISIS-K member at Kabul Airport.
September
- 7th September: El Salvador becomes the first country in the world to adopt Bitcoin as an official currency.
- 15th September: A trilateral security pact between the USA, UK and Australia is agreed, known as AUKUS.
- 20th September: Justin Trudeau’s Liberal Party wins a minority government in the federal election.
October
- 6th October: The WHO approves the first malaria vaccine in history.
- 31st October: COP26 opens, held in Glasgow, which results in the Glasgow Climate Agreement.
November
- 5th November: Owen Patterson, MP for North Shropshire, resigns after the publishing of a corruption report.
- 27th November: The first case of the new Omicron variant of coronavirus is reported in the UK.
December
- 1st December: News breaks of a Christmas Party in Downing Street last year.
- 16th December: Huge upset in North Shropshire as the safe Conservative seat goes Liberal Democrat in a by-election.
- 26th December: Further coronavirus restrictions are introduced in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
