January
David Cameron, the Prime Minister, said he wanted to ‘negotiate a new settlement with our European partners’, and that before the end of 2017 would ‘give the British people a referendum with a very simple in or out choice’. Gérard Depardieu hugged President Vladimir Putin at the Black Sea resort of Sochi as he received a Russian passport. French troops were welcomed in the streets of Timbuktu as they drove back Islamist forces in Mali. HMV, the record shop, and Blockbuster, the DVD rental firm, went into administration. There were riots in Belfast. A helicopter crashed into a tower block at Vauxhall in London. The City of London approved a 620ft tower nicknamed the Scalpel.
February
Moody’s reduced Britain’s credit rating from AAA to AA1. The Commons voted for the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Bill, with 127 Conservative MPs voting in favour, and 136 against. Horse meat was found in prepared meals sold by several companies.
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