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, making him the longest-serving Leader of the Opposition in British political history.

Following Labour's fourth consecutive defeat in the 1992 general election, Kinnock resigned as leader and resigned from the House of Commons three years later to become a European Commissioner. He went on to become the Vice-President of the European Commission under Romano Prodi from 1999 to 2004. Until the summer of 2009, he was also the Chairman of the British Council and the President of Cardiff University.

Early life

Kinnock, an only child, was born in Tredegar, Wales. His father Gordon Herbert Kinnock was a former coal miner who suffered from dermatitis and later worked as a labourer; and his mother Mary (Howells) Kinnock was a district nurse. Gordon died of a heart attack in November 1971 aged 64; Mary died the following month aged 61.

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Famous quotes by Neil Kinnock:

"Mr Blair made the decision before the election that it would be his last as leader,"
"The enemy of idealism is zealotry."
"You cannot fashion a wit out of two half-wits."
"Loyalty is a fine quality, but in excess it fills political graveyards."
"The Parthenon without the marbles is like a smile with a tooth missing."
"I would die for my country but I could never let my country die for me"
"Do something that makes a difference - because, by God, there's a lot to make you angry."
"I?m not even sure I?d go into a reformed House of Lords. But let?s put it like this, the decision would have been easier had there been not even complete reform but a substantial stride."
"I warn you not to be ordinary, I warn you not to be young, I warn you not to fall ill, and I warn you not to grow old."
"I've been so bloody respectable and responsible... I'm going to be a bloody old nuisance."
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Look out for a Reform of the Left. It could finally shatter British politics

The Daily Telegraph 10 Mar 2025
... brought back into the Labour party – along with some youthful idealists – many of the flotsam and jetsam of the British hard Left who had been expelled by Neil Kinnock and appalled by Tony Blair.
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