From 1945 onwards, the reconstruction of the city began with the redevelopment of the suburbs. From 1947 onwards, Great Britain began giving its colonies independence. In 1948, London hosted the 14th Olympic Games. At the Festival of Britain in 1951, England presented its cultural and technical achievements in London. In 1952 Elizabeth II was crowned Queen at Westminster Abbey. In 1965 the Greater London Council was founded as a city expansion with expanded competencies. The Post Office Tower, today the Telecom Tower, was inaugurated in 1966. In the 1960s, which were also and above all influenced by British pop (Beatles, Rolling Stones, Miniskirt, Twiggy, Jean Shrimpton), the conflict in Northern Ireland intensified when British troops were stationed there in 1969. Through the ongoing civil war but also due to a recession in 1979 England had hit rock bottom economically. In 1968 there was the Great Strike in London and the economic life of the city was for a short time completely devastated.
In 1969 Prince Charles’ investiture as “Prince of Wales” took place in the Welsh castle of Caernafon.
In 1971 the decimal currency system was introduced, in 1973 Great Britain became a member of the EC and the commodity exchange moved into its new building – a year later the vegetable market moved to Docklands, the former Covent Garden market square was converted into a cultural and business center. The National Theater opened in 1976. that same year there was serious race riot at the Notting Hill Carnival.
Great celebrations were held across Great Britain in 1977 to mark the 25th anniversary of the throne.
In 1979 the Conservative Party won the general election and Margaret Thatcher became Prime Minister. In 1981 the Labor Party won the Greater London Council elections and the centenary wedding between Prince Charles and Diana Frances Spencer, Princess of Wales, took place at Westminster Abbey in 1981. In 1982 thousands demonstrated in London against the Falklands War between Great Britain and Argentina, after a few months the war ended with the defeat of Argentina. There was more racial unrest and conflict this year due to rising unemployment. In 1984 the summit of the 7 most important industrial nations took place in London. In 1986 the Greater London Council was dissolved as part of an administrative reform. In 1987, there was a fire at the King’s Cross underground station, in which more than 80 people were injured. From 1988, London pubs were allowed to remain open throughout the day. In 1990 the government’s tax increases led to social unrest; after internal power struggles, “the iron lady” Margaret Thatcher was replaced by John Major as the new conservative head of government. In 1991 the IRA attacked 10 Downing Street, Paddington Station and Victoria Station.
In the 1992 elections, the Conservative Party again won the general election and John Major remained in office. A fire destroyed part of Windsor Castle. The British royal family was in deep crisis due to the antics of Charles, Diana and Fergie. The Queen even spoke of a “horror year”. In 1993 an IRA bomb exploded in the City of London, one person was killed and over 80 injured, and large parts of the banking district were destroyed. In 1994 the royal family’s reputation had declined even further, so the Queen agreed to pay taxes on her income. The canal tunnel between London and Paris/Brussels was opened for rail traffic. In 1995, according to polls, John Major was the most unpopular head of government in a long time; In addition, numerous affairs shook the party’s credibility. During the European Football Championship in 1996, the IRA detonated the biggest bomb ever planted in the mother country; this seriously damaged the city center of Manchester, and significant parts of the Docklands were destroyed in an IRA bombing. Charles and Diana were divorced that year, and a tanker ran off the Milford Haven oil port in Wales, spilling over 50,000 tonnes of oil, which contaminated large coastal areas in South West Wales. Also in that year the horror news was finally loud that the bovine epidemic BSE could now be transmitted to humans after all, which leading scientists had long feared.
The opposition Labor Party had risen to the top of the popularity list by 1996. Under the heading of New Labor, the party had turned its back on the trade unions and removed the concept of socialism from its program. In 1997 the party, led by Tony Blair (born 1953), won the general election with an overwhelming majority; From now on, reforms were implemented quickly, the Bank of England became independent on the German model, and Scotland and Wales were given their own parliament. The United Kingdom returned the Crown Colony of Hong Kong to the People’s Republic of China that same year. On August 31st of that year, Princess Diana was killed in a tragic car accident in Paris. In 1998, despite many setbacks from Protestant and Catholic hardliners, a peace treaty was signed with Northern Ireland and a parliament was elected for the Northern Irish province. In the same year, the exterior work on the Millennium Dome was completed. Queen Elizabeth II opened the Welsh Parliament in May 1999 and the Scottish Parliament in July, officially bringing the self-government of Wales and Scotland into force. In 2000, Londoners had elected a Lord Mayor for 14 years: Ken Livingstone, who had been Lord Mayor of London 14 years earlier, won the election against fierce resistance from Tony Blair.
The highest gasoline prices in Europe sparked protests from British truckers who besieged oil refineries across the country and did not let tankers out of the depots, so that within a few days almost all gas stations fell dry. The National Health Service declared a state of emergency: schools were closed, basic foods were rationed, and public bus transport came to an almost complete standstill.
Foot and mouth disease broke out in the UK in 2001. The Labor Party under Tony Blair was re-elected this year with a large majority. In 2002, Princess Margaret died first and only seven weeks later, on March 30th, Queen Mum, at the age of 101.
Since 2003, the city’s airports have been guarded by 450 soldiers for fear of terrorist attacks similar to September 11 in New York. On July 7, 2005, Islamist terrorists finally carried out four bomb attacks on three subways and one bus. The attacks killed 56 people and injured another 700.
London will host the Summer Olympics for the third time in 2012.
The Speaker of the British Parliament – Michael Martin – who has existed since 1378 (then the English Parliament), resigned from his post effective June 21, 2009 in connection with the cover-up of corruption under pressure from numerous MPs. This forced resignation is the first forced resignation of a speaker since 1695, when Sir John Trevor was dismissed as speaker for corruption.