January

• 1 January –
  • In his New Year address, Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby urges politicians to treat their opponents as human beings rather than enemies.^[1]
  • Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps says that British forces are ready to act against Houthi rebels targeting cargo ships in the Red Sea.^[2]
  • Writing on X, Doug Barrowman, husband of Michelle, Baroness Mone, said it "suits the agenda" of ministers to "scapegoat" him and his wife as a means of distracting from government "incompetence" at failing to procure personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.^[3]
• 2 January – The Home Office says it has fulfilled a pledge to clear a "legacy" backlog of 92,000 asylum applications lodged before July 2022. But after it subsequently emerges that over 4,000 cases are still waiting for a decision, the Office for Statistics Regulation (OSR) announces an examination of the figures the next day.^[4]
• 3 January –
  • Sir Ed Davey, leader of the Liberal Democrats, launches the party's election campaign by targeting constituencies with Conservative MPs.^[5]
  • Former Chancellor of the Exchequer Nadhim Zahawi makes a guest appearance in the ITV drama Mr Bates vs The Post Office as himself, questioning Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells in a 2015 House of Commons committee inquiry into the Horizon computer system.^[6]
  • Richard Tice, leader of Reform UK, rules out a pact with the Conservative Party at the next general election.^[7]
• 4 January – Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says his "working assumption" is that the general election will take place in the second half of this year.^[8]
• 5 January – Chris Skidmore, MP for Kingswood, announces his intention to stand down from Parliament "as soon as possible" in protest at the UK government's decision to issue more oil and gas licences. His decision will trigger another by-election.^[9]
• 6 January –
  • Government papers seen by the BBC indicate Sunak had significant doubts about sending migrants to Rwanda when he was chancellor, and wanted to scale back the plans.^[10]
  • Jeremy Miles rules out reversing Wales's 20 mph speed limit if he becomes first minister.^[11]
• 7 January –
  • Sunak describes the Post Office scandal as "an appalling miscarriage of justice" and says the government is looking at ways to clear the names of those convicted because of faulty IT software.^[12]
  • Helen Harrison, the partner of former Conservative MP Peter Bone, is chosen by the Conservatives to contest the 2024 Wellingborough by-election.^[13]
  • The Independent Parliamentary Standards Authority is to investigate claims that Pensions Minister Paul Maynard breached Parliamentary rules by using public funds to pay for Conservative Party work and campaigns.^[14]
  • Sir Keir Starmer admits he worries about the toll of a general election year on his two teenage children as he and his wife try to keep them out of the public eye.^[15]
• 8 January –
  • Green Party co-leader Carla Denyer confirms the party intends to stand a candidate in every constituency in England and Wales at the forthcoming general election, the first time it has fielded a full list of candidates at an election.^[16]
  • SNP MP Joanna Cherry demands an apology from colleague Mhairi Black, who suggested some members of the party are "too comfortable" at Westminster.^[17]
  • Former Minister Sir Alok Sharma announces he will vote against the Offshore Petroleum Licensing Bill, describing plans to guarantee annual oil and gas licensing rounds as "a total distraction" that reinforce the idea the UK is "not serious" about tackling climate change.^[18]
  • British Post Office scandal: Labour Party leader Keir Starmer, who was Director of Public Prosecutions during the scandal, faces questions over why he failed to intervene in the prosecution of innocent sub-postmasters at the time.^[19]
• 9 January
  • Economists say that funding the student loans system in England is expected to cost the government an extra £10 billion a year.^[20]
  • British Post Office scandal:
    • Secretary of State for Justice Alex Chalk tells Parliament the UK government is giving "serious consideration" to introducing legislation to quash the convictions of the 700 or so sub post masters who were prosecuted as a result of the Horizon IT scandal.^[21]
    • Former Post Office chief executive Paula Vennells announces that she will hand back her CBE after more than a million people signed a petition calling for her to do so.^[22]
    • Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey, who was Post Office minister during the scandal, comes under pressure to return his knighthood.^[23]
  • Downing Street confirms that Akshata Murty, the wife of the Prime Minister, has donated her shares in a childcare company to charity. The shares were at the centre of a conflict-of-interest controversy.^[24]
• 10 January –
  • British Post Office scandal:
    • Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announces that emergency legislation will be brought through Parliament to "swiftly exonerate and compensate victims" of the Post Office scandal in England and Wales.^[25]
    • First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf confirms those in Scotland convicted because of the scandal will also be cleared, and that he will work with the UK government to bring this about.^[26]
• 11 January –
  • The Liberal Democrats ask Ofcom to investigate GB News over alleged bias in its coverage of the Post Office scandal, including what the party's deputy leader, Daisy Cooper, describes as "a fictitious monologue" Nigel Farage delivered about Sir Ed Davey, which she says contained "a number of factual inaccuracies".^[27]
  • First Minister of Scotland Humza Yousaf confirms that the Scottish Government will "in essence replicate" the law in England and Wales banning unlicensed ownership of American XL bully dogs.^[28]
  • Sunak authorises joint UK–US air strikes against Houthi rebels following attacks against cargo shipping targets in the Red Sea.^[29]
• 12 January –
  • The Liberal Democrats, Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru call for a recall of parliament to enable a vote on RAF involvement in the air strikes against Houthi rebels in Yemen, since Parliament had already risen for the weekend when Sunak authorised the UK's participation.^[30]
  • Sunak authorises talks between the Labour Party and the civil service ahead of a general election later in the year to ensure a smooth transition if Labour becomes the party of government.^[31]
  • British Post Office scandal:
    • Court documents reveal that Fujitsu, the company at the centre of the Post Office scandal, won a £184m contract by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 2021, despite concerns the system it was offering was "unfit for purpose".^[32]
    • Court documents show that former Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair was warned the Horizon IT system could be "possibly unreliable" before it was rolled out, and raised concerns about it, but gave it the green light after receiving reassurance from others, including his Secretary of State for Trade and Industry Peter Mandelson.^[33]
• 13 January – Yvonne Tracey, a former deputy postmistress from New Malden, south London, announces her intention to stand in the Parliamentary constituency of Kingston and Surbiton, Sir Ed Davey's seat, at the next general election.^[34]
• 14 January – Foreign Secretary David Cameron tells the BBC that military action was taken against Houthi rebels because the strikes were needed after months of attacks against cargo ships, and that the UK is "prepared to back our words with actions".^[35]
• 15 January –
  • Sunak tells Parliament that air strikes against Houthi targets were means as a "limited, single action" but that the UK "will not hesitate to protect our security, our people and our interests where required".^[36]
  • James Stockan announces he will step down from the post of leader of Orkney Islands Council, as well as relinquishing his council seat, after six years in the role.^[37]
• 16 January –
  • Analysis shows that Labour would need a record swing of 12.7% in votes at the next general election to win a majority in the House of Commons.^[38]
  • Lee Anderson and Brendan Clarke-Smith resign their positions as Deputy Chairmen of the Conservative Party, after saying they would back rebel amendments on the Rwanda bill.^[39] Jane Stevenson also resigns as a Parliamentary Private Secretary so she can vote for the amendment.^[40]
  • The fifteen year time limit on voting eligibility for British citizens living abroad is abolished under the Election Act 2022, enabling a further two million people to register to vote in UK elections.^[41]
• 17 January –
  • The UK government is seeking legal expenses from the Scottish Government over its challenge against the veto of the Gender Recognition Reform (Scotland) Bill.^[42]
  • The current session of the 7th Northern Ireland Assembly is suspended following the failure of Democratic Unionist Party to support nominations to elect Mike Nesbitt (UUP) or Patsy McGlone (SDLP) to the role of Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly.^[43]
  • The Safety of Rwanda (Asylum and Immigration) Bill passes its third reading in the House of Commons with MPs voting 320–276 in favour of the bill.^[44]

February

• 15 February – By elections are expected to take place in Wellingborough and Kingswood.^[45]

March

• 6 March – Chancellor Jeremy Hunt is scheduled to deliver the 2024 United Kingdom budget.^[46]
• 16 March – The result of the 2024 Welsh Labour leadership election is scheduled to be announced, with the winner expected to be confirmed in the following days as First Minister of Wales.^[47]

April

May

• 2 May – Local elections are scheduled to take place for councils and mayors in England and police and crime commissioners in England and Wales.

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

• 17 December – Assuming the next general election has not already taken place, the Parliament elected in 2019 must be dissolved, with the next general election taking place no later than 28 January 2025.^[48][49]