War, weird weather and discontent at the cost of living: 2022 in review

Boris Johnson was in hot water from the beginning, with fury over the partygate scandal. Police investigated dozens of events across Government for alleged Covid breaches during lockdown, including Mr Johnson’s birthday celebration and a gathering in his Downing Street flat.

Downing Street apologised to Buckingham Palace after it emerged parties were held in Number 10 the day before the Duke of Edinburgh’s funeral the previous year.

As this rumbled on, and the prime minister faced serious questions over his leadership, the Queen stripped the Duke of York of his honorary military roles, while he gave up his HRH style over fallout from his civil sex case.

It came a day after US judge Lewis A Kaplan dismissed a motion by Andrew’s lawyers to have the case thrown out.

Later in January, Manchester United striker Mason Greenwood was arrested on suspicion of rape and assault and suspended from playing or training with the club.

February’s front pages were united in showing the horror of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, with the UK acting swiftly by attempting to punish President Vladimir Putin’s regime.

A barrage of economic sanctions was imposed on Russian banks and billionaire allies of Putin, before petrol prices rose and world markets fell.

All British airlines were banned by Russia from landing at its airports and from crossing its airspace, while flights between the UK and Ukraine were suspended.

Thousands of people gathered in support of Ukraine across UK towns and cities.

The Queen became the first British monarch in history to celebrate a Platinum Jubilee, marking 70 years on the throne, days before the Duke of York and his accuser Virginia Giuffre reached an out-of-court settlement over her civil sex claim.

As February drew to a close, Storms Dudley, Eunice and Franklin caused problems across the UK, with some of the most powerful winds to hit the country in decades. The River Severn burst its banks, swamping towns including Shrewsbury and Stourport.

Russian-Israeli billionaire Roman Abramovich put Chelsea FC up for sale in March as more billionaires were hit with asset-freezing sanctions amid the continued invasion of Ukraine.

British-Iranian dual nationals Nazanin Zaghari-Ratcliffe and Anoosheh Ashoori returned to the UK having been detained in Iran, as P&O Ferries sparked outrage after sacking 800 seafarers and replacing them with cheaper agency workers.

The following month, Boris Johnson was among those fined for attending his own birthday bash during a Covid lockdown, later insisting he did not know he was breaking his own coronavirus rules, offering MPs a “wholehearted apology”.

April was a month dominated by politics, as Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s wife, Akshata Murty, said she would pay UK taxes on all her worldwide income after disclosure of her non-domiciled status sparked a furious political row.

Elsewhere, the Government announced multimillion-pound plans for asylum seekers who crossed the Channel in small boats to be flown for processing to Rwanda.

Tory Neil Parish resigned as an MP after admitting to twice watching pornography in Parliament, while three-time Wimbledon champion Boris Becker was jailed for two and a half years for hiding £2.5 million worth of assets and loans to avoid paying his debts.

This all came after the biggest jump in domestic energy bills in living memory, as the price cap for domestic gas and electricity rose by 54 per cent.

May kicked off with Mr Johnson facing a Tory backlash after the party suffered a string of losses in the local elections.

As police issued more partygate fines, Sue Gray’s full report into the controversy was published, leading to calls for the then-prime minister to quit.

A steady stream of backbenchers, including former ministers, called on Mr Johnson to go after the report laid bare a hard-drinking culture at the heart of government while raising renewed claims he misled Parliament.

In the middle of the month, 17-year-old Blackpool footballer Jake Daniels came out as gay, while Sam Ryder finished second in the final of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Britain’s jobless rate fell to its lowest level for nearly 48 years, as it was announced the cost of living in the country was increasing at its fastest rate for four decades.

The following month saw the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations across an extended bank holiday weekend.

Closing the four days of pomp, pageantry and partying, the Queen, who was absent for much of the celebrations, said she remained “committed to serving” the nation to “the best of my ability”.

Days later Boris Johnson survived a confidence vote in his leadership of the Conservative party, but saw 148 Tory MPs refuse to back him.

The largest rail strike in a decade hit the UK as members of the Rail, Maritime and Transport union (RMT) walked out on three days in a week in a bitter dispute over pay, jobs and conditions.

As holidaymakers faced chaos at airports due to cancelled flights, then-home secretary Priti Patel signed an order to extradite WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange to the United States.

July saw the end of Boris Johnson’s leadership after Rishi Sunak quit as chancellor and Sajid Javid resigned as health secretary. Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss were left to battle head-to-head to replace him.

The month also saw temperatures climb above 40C for the first time, and the West Midlands sweltered in record temperatures. The Met Office warned people in the region to stay indoors after its first red warning for extreme heat.

Further rail strikes and Just Stop Oil climate protests occurred throughout the month, which ended with England winning the European Women’s Football Championships.

Elsewhere, Rebekah Vardy lost the “Wagatha Christie” libel battle against Coleen Rooney over a viral social media post.

Following the driest July since 1935 across England, 11 of the 14 Environment Agency areas in the country were placed into drought status during August, including the West Midlands. Our region escaped a hosepipe ban but many others weren’t so lucky.

It came as consumer champion Martin Lewis warned soaring energy bills were turning into a “national crisis” on the scale of the Covid-19 pandemic and would put lives at risk.

Ofgem later confirmed an 80.06 per cent rise in the energy price cap for around 24 million households in England, Scotland and Wales, sending the average household’s yearly bill from £1,971 to £3,549.

During August, 12-year-old Archie Battersbee, who had been in a coma, died in hospital after weeks of legal battles, while Olivia Pratt-Korbel, nine, was fatally shot as she stood behind her mother who was trying to stop a gunman entering the family home in Liverpool.

Postal workers, rail workers, dock workers and barristers also announced fresh strike action.

September was a month of huge historical significance, with the death of the Queen plunging the nation into a period of mourning.

The month began with Liz Truss being confirmed as prime minister, just days before news that the 96-year-old monarch was under medical supervision at Balmoral emerged.

King Charles acceded to the throne immediately after his mother’s death and during the nation’s period of mourning members of the public left flowers and tributes outside palaces and churches.

The Queen’s coffin was delivered by hearse from Balmoral to Edinburgh, before it was transported to London for the official lying in state in Westminster Hall.

On September 19, the Queen’s state funeral took place.

At the end of the month, the pound plummeted after then-chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng announced the biggest raft of tax cuts for half a century.

The pound fell to a fresh 37-year low, forcing the Bank of England to launch an emergency UK government bond-buying programme to prevent borrowing costs from spiralling out of control, amid fears millions of mortgage holders could face crippling rises in their repayments. By the start of October, Ms Truss and Mr Kwarteng abandoned their plan to abolish the 45p rate of income tax for top earners, before the chancellor was sacked weeks later. Amid mounting pressure on her, the prime minister resigned, before Rishi Sunak was quickly named the new leader of the Conservative Party.

October also saw a month-long campaign of direct action by Just Stop Oil protesters, during which they blocked roads, spray painted buildings and threw tomato soup on a painting. It came after more than 50,000 rail workers went on a 24-hour strike, crippling train services, a trend which continued throughout the month.

The controversial World Cup kicked off in Qatar in November, with England soaring through the group stages without a loss before predictably crashing our heroically.

However, the controversy was not reserved for the sporting world, as Matt Hancock entered ITV’s I’m A Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here!, coming third during the series finale.

South Staffordshire MP Sir Gavin Williamson quit Rishi Sunak’s top ministerial team after allegations about his conduct towards colleagues and officials.

Strikes went on, bringing chaos to rail and postal services in the West Midlands. Nurses voted to strike in many areas and West Midlands Ambulance staff walked out. Border Force staff and driving examiners also took action as Britain fell into a new winter of discontent.

On the first day of December, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, Ian Blackford, announced he will step down from the role.