years since it peaked at nearly 3,000,000 during the recession. Despite the strong economic recovery and falling unemployment, the Conservatives are still trailing behind Labour in the opinion polls, a stark contrast to their performance at the last election, where they retained power despite Britain being in recession. Undated Remaining provincial branches of the Bank of England, at Leeds, Newcastle, Manchester, Birmingham and Bristol, are closed. More than 4% of the UK population (some 2,500,000 people) now have internet access. New car sales in the United Kingdom are above 2,000,000 for this year, a level last seen in 1990. Panathlon Foundation is formed by Ashley Iceton. Publications Iain M. Banks's novel Excession. Seamus Deane's novel Reading in the Dark. Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels Feet of Clay and Hogfather; and his Johnny Maxwell novel Johnny and the Bomb. Graham Swift's novel Last Orders. Meera Syal's semi-autobiographical novel Anita and Me. Births January 3 January – Florence Pugh, actress 4 January – Jade Jones, athlete 5 January – Maxim Baldry, English actor 8 January – Hiram Boateng, footballer 10 January – Lauren McCrostie, actress 11 January – Charlie Coulson, footballer 17 January – Kirsty Hickey, actor, singer and dancer 21 January – Kyle Lander, footballer 23 January – Ruben Loftus-Cheek, footballer 26 January – Tyger Drew-Honey, actor 29 January – Megan Jossa, actress February 1 February Josh Bates, motorcycle speedway rider Dionne Bromfield, singer-songwriter and television presenter 7 February – Nathan Curtis, footballer 14 February – Bethany Firth, swimmer 20 February – Patrick Brough, footballer 21 February – Sophie Turner, actress March 11 March – William Lenney, YouTuber 12 March – Byron Lawrence, footballer 16 March – Ivan Toney, footballer 17 March – Lydia Lloyd-Henry, actress 19 March – Kaiya Jones, Scottish-born Australian actress 20 March – Charley Hull, golfer 21 March – Adam Ellis, French-born grasstrack and speedway rider 22 March Jonathan Mason, actor Izzy Meikle-Small, actress 31 March – Barney Gibson, cricketer April 3 April – Anna Jobarteh, actress 5 April – Lowri Shone, ballerina 8 April – Lorna Fitzgerald, actress 11 April – Dele Alli, footballer 12 April – Georgia Hall, golfer 17 April – Lorna Fitzgerald, actress 23 April – Charlie Rowe, actor 25 April Bryn Morris, footballer Brad Walker, footballer May 3 May – Danielle Alakija, athlete 15 May – Birdy, musician 16 May – Jermaine Anderson, footballer June 1 June – Tom Holland, actor and dancer