Product Description

When Neil Kinnock became Labour's leader in 1983, the party was at its lowest ebb since the war. Internal wrangling, problems of presentation and personality, as well as a formidable foe in Margaret Thatcher, conspired to keep Labour out of office for another 14 years. In that time, however, the party was transformed, and the changes began under Neil Kinnock. Much maligned for snatching defeat from the jaws of victory in 1992, Neil Kinnock's reputation is regarded by many as ripe for rehabilitation. Modernizers from Blair himself to Philip Gould have paid tribute to his vital role in vanquishing the "loony left" and moving the party to the centre ground, and Kinnock's post-Labour career at the European Commission, where he is currently Vice-President, has won him new respect and made him a key player as Europe moves towards monetary union.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #519549 in Books
• Published on: 2001-10-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 464 pages

Review
Neil Kinnock led the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992, losing three elections in the process: two to his nemesis, Margaret Thatcher, and one to John Major. When he left office in 1992, he was widely perceived as a failure, as having presided over a divided and quarrelsome Opposition, and having 'snatched defeat from the jaws of victory' in 1992. With time, however, a revisionist view of his achievements has quietly begun to emerge, in which he has been acknowledged for beginning the crucial process of modernizing the Labour Party, initiating the train of events that was to make Tony Blair electable. Additionally, his quietly supportive attitude to the two Labour leaders who succeeded him, and the work he has done as vice-president at the European Commission, when compared to the strident interference of Lady Thatcher into the affairs of the Conservative Party, have made even his critics view him in a new light. This is not the first biography of Kinnock, nor is it an authorized one, but as Westlake lets slip in the last chapter, it is one written by an admirer. 'Time will tell whether he really was a Gorbachev-like or a John the Baptist figure as so many claim and I myself believe,' writes the author, nailing his own colours to the mast. However, Westlake does not view his subject through rose-tinted spectacles, repeating many of the criticisms made of Kinnock by friends, allies and enemies, and highlighting some of the famous PR debacles that seemed to follow him around. But Westlake also points to Kinnock's difficulties when subject to derogatory coverage in the right-wing press, and his despair at the personal attacks on himself and on his wife Glenys. Unauthorized this biography may be, but Westlake clearly knows his subject well, and Kinnock's own version of events is often juxtaposed with that given by other observers. The author's access to his subject also gives a very real sense of the man - always well-intentioned, often flawed - from his working-class origins in the Welsh valleys through his strong marriage to his highly principled approach to politics. My only complaint about this exhaustive and well-researched book is that the copy-editing lets it down - their's for theirs, Pengham for Pengam, where it is correct elsewhere. These minor quibbles apart, this book makes an interesting - if weighty - account of a turbulent period in the history of the Labour Party, and in British politics in general. (Kirkus UK)

About the Author
Martin Westlake is a senior European civil servant and an accomplished academic author. He is currently head of the Unit for Institutional Relations in the European Commission's Directorate-General for Information, Communication, Culture and Audio-Visual Media.

Customer Reviews

Error in summary
Sorry to be a pedant, but Kinnock only lost 2 general elections, 1987 (Thatcher) and 1992 (Major - Gawd help us).

A great man who saved the Labour Party from itself and the Tories.