"Kinnock resigned as leader after a fourth successive Labour defeat at the hands of John Major in the 1992 election. He resigned as leader shortly afterwards, paving the way for John Smith. Labour Deputy Leadership Election, 1983 1983 Labour Party (UK) leadership election The 1983 Labour Party leadership election was an election in the United Kingdom for the leadership of the Labour Party. It occurred when former leader Michael Foot resigned after winning only 209 seats at the 1983 general election, a loss of 60 seats compared to their performance at the previous election four years earlier. This was the"
"Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock, (born 28 March 1942) is a British Labour Party politician. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995, first for Bedwellty and then for Islwyn. He was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 until 1992. Kinnock led the Labour Party to a surprise fourth consecutive defeat at the 1992 general election, despite the party being ahead in most opinion polls, which had predicted either a narrow Labour victory or a hung parliament. Afterwards, he resigned as Leader of the Labour Party after nine"
"to Kinnock's negative media image, Labour was defeated at the 1987 and 1992 general elections, and he was succeeded by Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Smith . Shadow Home Secretary Tony Blair became Leader of the Labour Party after John Smith's sudden death from a heart attack in 1994. He continued to move the Labour Party towards the ""centre"" by loosening links with the unions and continuing many of Margaret Thatcher's neoliberal policies. This coupled with the professionalising of the party machine's approach to the media, helped Labour win a historic landslide at the 1997 general election, after eighteen"
"defeat at the general election of April 1992, Neil Kinnock resigned as leader and Smith was elected Labour leader. Although Labour had now been out of power for 13 years, their performance in the 1992 election had been much better than in the previous three. They had cut the Conservative majority from 102 seats to 21, and for most of the three years leading up to the election, opinion polls had indicated that Labour were more likely to win the election than the Conservatives. The resignation of long-serving but increasingly unpopular Conservative prime minister Margaret Thatcher, and the well-received election"
"majority, Kinnock remained leader of the Labour Party. In the deputy leadership election, the incumbent deputy, Roy Hattersley, was victorious. In a television interview on the night of the victory, Kinnock said it was ""a very positive vote for unity and for change"", as he intended to use the vote as a mandate for policy changes he sought to bring in. Kinnock and Hattersley remained as leader and deputy leader respectively through the 1992 general election. After Labour was defeated in the polls, Kinnock announced his resignation on 13 April 1992, and Hattersley followed shortly afterwards. Kinnock blamed the defeat"
"had backed Kinnock for the 1987 general election and again in 1992. Less expected was the ""Financial Times"" backing Kinnock at the 1992 general election. Kinnock himself later claimed to have half-expected his defeat at the 1992 general election and proceeded to turn himself into a media personality, even hosting a chat show on BBC Wales and twice appearing on the topical panel show ""Have I Got News for You"" within a year of the defeat. Many years later, he returned to appear as a guest host of the programme. Kinnock announced his resignation as Labour Party leader on 13"
"long way behind in terms of seats. Despite this, Foot was very critical of the Alliance, accusing them of ""siphoning"" Labour support and enabling the Tories to win more seats. Foot resigned days after the bitter election defeat, and was succeeded as leader on 2 October by Neil Kinnock; who had been tipped from the outset to be Labour's choice of new leader. Foot took a back seat in Labour politics after 1983 and retired from the House of Commons at the 1992 general election, when Labour lost to the Tories (led by John Major) for the fourth election in"
"both Chris Barrie and Steve Coogan in the satirical TV programme, ""Spitting Image"" and by Euan Cuthbertson in the Scottish film ""In Search of La Che"". Kinnock has been described as an agnostic and an atheist. Like his wife, he is a Patron of Humanists UK. Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock, (born 28 March 1942) is a British Labour Party politician. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995, first for Bedwellty and then for Islwyn. He was the Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 1983 until 1992. Kinnock led"
"with the economy approaching recession and the Conservatives racked by internal divisions, Labour under Neil Kinnock were expected to win. However, the Conservatives confounded the polls and won the election, receiving the most votes at any general election in history, although they returned only 10 more MPs than they needed for a majority. Kinnock announced his resignation and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer John Smith was elected to succeed him in July 1992. Under Smith, Labour adopted what many saw as a cautious approach, seeking to avoid controversy and win the next election by capitalising on the unpopularity of the"
"in a generation. However, the strong economic recovery failed to make much difference to the dismal Conservative performance in the opinion polls. Labour leader John Smith died of a sudden heart attack in May 1994 and was succeeded by Tony Blair, who continued the modernisation process of the party which began under Smith's predecessor Neil Kinnock, by branding the party as: ""New Labour"", and by the end of that year the opinion polls were showing Labour support as high as 60% – putting them more than 30 points ahead of the Conservatives. With the Conservative government remaining divided on Europe"
"1988 Labour Party (UK) leadership election The 1988 Labour Party leadership election saw Tony Benn, identified with the left wing of the British Labour Party, challenge the incumbent leader Neil Kinnock identified with the more moderate social democratic wing. Kinnock won the election with 89% of the vote and remained Leader until 1992, when he resigned the leadership after Labour's defeat in the 1992 general election. The election took place at Labour Party conference, with affiliated trade unions holding 40% of the votes, delegates from Constituency Labour Parties holding 30% of the votes, and the Parliamentary Labour Party holding the"
"final 30% of the votes. Neil Kinnock became leader of the Labour Party in 1983 following the resignation of Michael Foot. The party had been moving towards the left, something that Kinnock sought to change. At the 1987 general election, Kinnock was placed front and centre of the Labour campaign, leading to claims that it was almost presidential. Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party, seven points ahead in the polls, won the election despite a 1.2% swing to Labour. Rumours were spreading early in 1988 that Tony Benn was planning a leadership challenge against Kinnock. The 63-year-old Benn had lost his seat"
"1992 United Kingdom general election The 1992 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 9 April 1992, to elect 651 members to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The election resulted in the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party since 1979 and last time the Conservatives would win a majority at a general election until 2015. This election result took many by surprise, as opinion polling leading up to the election day had shown the Labour Party, under leader Neil Kinnock, consistently, if narrowly, ahead. John Major had won the leadership election in November 1990 following"
"team – it ought to be Kinnock and Hattersley"" while Gavin Laird, general secretary of the Amalgamated Union of Engineering Workers, backed Hattersley as leader, Kinnock as his deputy. Of the four contenders who stood to replace Foot, Kinnock was favoured to win. The results of the election, held at Labour Party Conference, were: Neil Kinnock won the election with an outright majority and Roy Hattersley became his deputy, beating Michael Meacher. Kinnock remained leader until 1992. Kinnock fought in two further elections, both unsuccessfully. He failed to beat Margaret Thatcher in the 1987 general election despite gaining some seats."
"Shadow Cabinet of Neil Kinnock Neil Kinnock was Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2 October 1983 to 18 July 1992. He convincingly defeated Roy Hattersley, Eric Heffer, and Peter Shore in the 1983 leadership election, which was prompted by Michael Foot's resignation following the disastrous general election result earlier that year. Kinnock's period as Leader encompassed the bulk of the Thatcher years and the first two years of Major premiership. Kinnock resigned in 1992 after losing his second election as Leader. Kinnock announced his first Shadow Cabinet on 31 October 1983. On 26 October"
"turn out the lights"", resigned after the defeat, blaming the right-wing media for Labour's failure to win the election. John Smith, despite his involvement with the Shadow Budget, was elected to succeed Kinnock in July 1992. Smith's leadership once again saw the re-emergence of tension between those on the party's left and those identified as ""modernisers"", both of whom advocated radical revisions of the party's stance albeit in different ways. At the 1993 conference, Smith successfully changed the party rules and lessened the influence of the trade unions on the selection of candidates to stand for Parliament by introducing a"
"calls for a general election throughout 1991. Kinnock campaigned on the theme ""It's Time for a Change"", urging voters to elect a new government after more than a decade of unbroken Conservative rule. However, the Conservatives themselves had undergone a change of leader from Thatcher to Major, and replaced the Community Charge. From the outset, it was clearly a well-received change, as Labour's 14-point lead in the November 1990 ""Poll of Polls"" was replaced by an 8% Tory lead a month later. The 1992 general election was widely tipped to result in a hung parliament or a narrow Labour majority,"
"1983 election, Labour suffered a landslide defeat, winning only 27.6% of the vote and securing just 209 seats. This was their worst performance at a general election since 1918. Labour won only half a million votes more than the SDP-Liberal Alliance, which had attracted the votes of many moderate Labour supporters, although the Alliance only won 23 seats. Michael Foot criticised the Alliance for ""siphoning"" Labour support and allowing the Tories to win more seats. Michael Foot resigned and was replaced as leader by Neil Kinnock who was elected on 2 October 1983 and progressively moved the party towards the"
"if not substance, whereas Kinnock was now the longest serving leader of any of the major political parties at the time and was now the longest-serving opposition leader in British political history. From the outset, it was clearly a well-received change, as Labour's 14-point lead in the November 1990 ""Poll of Polls"" was replaced by an 8% Tory lead a month later. The 1992 general election on 9 April was widely tipped to result in a hung parliament or a narrow Labour majority, but in the event the Conservatives were returned to power, though with a much reduced majority of"
"the Labour Movement in Britain as a whole. It was the birthplace of Aneurin Bevan, who was responsible for the introduction of the British National Health Service (NHS), and who in the 1920s was involved in the management of Tredegar General Hospital. Neil Kinnock, leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992, was born in Tredegar in 1942 and lived there for most of his early life, attending the town's Georgetown Infants and Junior Schools between 1947 and 1953. His predecessor as leader, Michael Foot, was MP for the local constituency — Ebbw Vale — during his time as"
"The change of leader from Margaret Thatcher to John Major saw a revival in Tory support, with the double-digit lead in the opinion polls for the Labour Party being replaced by a narrow Conservative one by the turn of 1991. Although a general election did not have to be held until June 1992, Labour leader Neil Kinnock kept pressurising Major to hold an election during 1991, but Major resisted the calls and there was no election that year. The recession which began in the autumn of 1990 deepened during 1991, with unemployment standing at nearly 2.5 million by December 1991,"
"of the Labour Party, a post he held until 1994. He was part of the reforming leadership of Neil Kinnock and in the role progressed a wide-ranging agenda including the modification of internal rules, a shift towards a national membership scheme, the expulsion of entryist Militant group members and, following the 1987 election defeat, the internal Policy Review. Whitty's period as General Secretary meant that he oversaw two general elections (the later in 1992), and the election of John Smith and Tony Blair as leaders of the party. He was the European Co-ordinator for the Labour Party from 1994 to"
"Hattersley was present at the Labour Party rally in his native Sheffield and backed up Kinnock with the claim that ""with every day that passes, Neil looks more and more like the real tenant of number 10 Downing Street"". The general election was held on 9 April 1992, but saw a fourth consecutive Labour defeat by the Conservatives. Kinnock announced his resignation as party leader on 13 April, and on the same day Hattersley announced his intention to resign from the deputy leadership of the party, with the intention of carrying on in their roles until the new leadership was"
"by a democratic socialist, Jeremy Corbyn, leading one MP to comment that New Labour is ""dead and buried"". First elected to parliament as Member of Parliament (MP) for Sedgefield, County Durham at the 1983 general election, Tony Blair became the leader of the Labour Party in 1994 after winning 57% of the vote in that year's leadership election, defeating John Prescott and Margaret Beckett. His first shadow cabinet role came in November 1988, when Neil Kinnock appointed him as Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and in July 1992 was promoted to the role of Shadow Home Secretary on the"
"later in the memoirs of senior figures including John Major himself) within the Conservative government as to whether a fifth successive general election victory was a realistic possibility. The new term of parliament saw Major gain a new opponent in John Smith, who succeeded Neil Kinnock as Labour leader. However, the months which followed the 1992 general election saw a series of events which went a long way towards deciding the outcome of the next general election long before it was even on the political horizon. On Wednesday 16 September 1992, the pound sterling crashed out of the European Exchange"
"April 1992, ending nearly a decade in the role. John Smith, previously Shadow Chancellor, was elected on 18 July as his successor. He remains on the Advisory Council of the Institute for Public Policy Research, which he helped set up in the 1980s. He was an enthusiastic supporter of Ed Miliband's campaign for leadership of the Labour Party in 2010, and was reported as telling activists, when Ed Miliband won, ""We've got our party back"" – although Miliband, like Kinnock, failed to lead the party back into government, and resigned after the Conservatives were re-elected with a slim majority in"
"Cabinet are in bold face. Second Major ministry John Major formed the second Major ministry following the 1992 general election after being invited by Queen Elizabeth II to begin a new government. His government fell into minority status on 13 December 1996. The change of leader from Margaret Thatcher to John Major saw a dramatic turnaround in Tory support, with the double-digit lead in the opinion polls for the Labour Party being replaced by a narrow Conservative one by the turn of 1991. Although a general election did not have to be held until June 1992, Labour leader Neil Kinnock"
"1983 Labour Party (UK) leadership election The 1983 Labour Party leadership election was an election in the United Kingdom for the leadership of the Labour Party. It occurred when former leader Michael Foot resigned after winning only 209 seats at the 1983 general election, a loss of 60 seats compared to their performance at the previous election four years earlier. This was the worst showing for Labour since 1931. Neil Kinnock was elected Leader with 71% of the Electoral College vote; runner-up Roy Hattersley stood simultaneously for Deputy Leader and was elected as Deputy. The election took place at Labour"
"though after November 1990 any Labour lead in the polls was rarely sufficient for a majority, suggesting that Labour could only rule as a minority government or in coalition with other parties. Major resisted Kinnock's calls for a general election throughout 1991. Kinnock campaigned on the theme ""It's Time for a Change"", urging voters to elect a new government after more than a decade of unbroken Conservative rule – which had seen two recessions. However, the Conservatives themselves had undergone a dramatic change in the change of leader from Margaret Thatcher to John Major, at least in terms of style"
"in debates. During this time the debates in the Lords were televised (at a time when those in the Commons were not) and this gave significant prominence to the Labour opposition in the Lords. For most of his decade as Labour leader and, as such, a member of the Shadow Cabinet, Neil Kinnock was the leader of the Labour Party and they formed a strong working relationship. Had Labour won the 1992 General Election, Kinnock would have appointed Lord Cledwyn to a Cabinet post. Labour's defeat was a great disappointment him, as he was unable to implement his proposals to"
"the wake of Labour's unsuccessful performance in the 1987 election, the Labour Party leader, Neil Kinnock, despite his own unilateralist convictions, moved to drop the party's disarmament policy, which he saw as a contributing factor in its defeat. The party formally voted to do so in October 1989. In Scotland there was opposition to the basing of the US Polaris submarines at Holy Loch in 1961. The development of the longer-range Trident missile made US ballistic missile submarine bases in the UK unnecessary, and the US Polaris boats were withdrawn in 1992. Opposition to nuclear weapons became associated with Scottish"
"changing official Labour policy in line with his views. After losing the 1983 and 1987 general elections Labour leader Neil Kinnock persuaded the party to abandon unilateralism in 1989. In 2015 another long time CND supporter, Jeremy Corbyn was elected leader of the Labour Party, although the official Labour policy has not changed as yet in line with his views. CND's growing support in the 1980s provoked opposition from several sources, including Peace Through Nato, the British Atlantic Committee (which received government funding), Women and Families for Defence (set up by Conservative journalist and later MP Lady Olga Maitland to"
"replacement, with Bernie Grant as his deputy, although they were not selected, with John Smith and Margaret Beckett taking the positions instead. After Smith died in May 1994, Livingstone again put his name down as a potential leader, although withdrew it due to a lack of support. Instead, Tony Blair was selected, with Livingstone predicting that he would be ""the most right-wing leader"" in Labour history. Blair and his supporters sought to reform the party by further expunging leftist elements and taking it to the centre ground, thus creating ""New Labour"", with Blairite Peter Mandelson asserting that hard left figures"