Events from the year 1987 in the United Kingdom. The major political event of this year is the re-election of Margaret Thatcher in June's general election, making her the longest continuously-serving Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since Lord Liverpool in the early 19th century. The year is also marked by six disasters: the 1987 United Kingdom and Ireland cold wave, the sinking of the ferry MS Herald of Free Enterprise, the Hungerford massacre, the "Great Storm", the Remembrance Day bombing and the King's Cross fire.