Abstract
Neil Kinnock has the unenviable title of being the longest-serving Leader of the Opposition in the post-war period. He was elected on 2 October 1983 and stepped down on 18 July 1992, after his party lost its fourth consecutive General Election — the second under Kinnock’s leadership. Yet by the time Kinnock stepped down, the party was almost unrecognisable from the one he inherited — less divided, with a set of policies more attractive to the wider electorate, better presented and on the cusp of regaining power after over a decade out of office.
Neil
you made me feel
hope
even though the electorate
said nope.
John Hegley, ‘Happy Easter, Mr Kinnock’ in The Guardian, 18th April 1992
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© 2012 Simon Griffiths
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Griffiths, S. (2012). Neil Kinnock, 1983–92. In: Heppell, T. (eds) Leaders of the Opposition. Palgrave Macmillan, London. https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230369009_11
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9780230369009_11
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, London
Print ISBN: 978-1-349-33364-6
Online ISBN: 978-0-230-36900-9
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