Labour (1987 - 1992)
- Created by: yazmintaylorx
- Created on: 05-05-18 12:56
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- Labour 1983 - 1992
- Neil Kinnock
- leader 1983 - 1992
- he replaced Foot as leader in 1983 & aimed to modernise the party
- he faced a tough challenge from the Lib/SDP
- he was also threatened by the hard left in the party - dubbed the 'loony left' by the tabloids
- the decline of working class unemployment also deprived Lab. of traditional support
- Labour's Militants
- La. had been infiltrated by a trotskyist faction called 'militant'
- some militants took control of Labour-run local councils like Liverpool
- they had hijacked the Lab. party from within
- Kinnock's chief target was the militant Derek Hatton
- he had become deputy leader of Liverpool
- other prominent figures were Rather Scargill & 'Red Ken' Livingstone
- Labour (1983 - 1987)
- Kinnock gave half-hearted support to the miners during the 1984/5 strike
- he began the explosion process of militants esp. from the Liverpool branch
- Peter Mandelson was appointed to manage the party's image better
- Lab. was rebranded
- they fought a slick election in 1987 but still lost heavily to Thatcher
- Ideology
- there were some differences in ideology
- some were diverted away from the party by single issues
- e.g the Greenham Women campaigning against cruise missiles or the environment
- Europe was another issue that divided the party with Tony Benn campaigning against the issues & Roy Jenkins & Dennis Healey equally enthusiastic
- Labour (1987 - 1992)
- Lab. reduced the Cons. majority to just 21 seats in the 1992 election
- this was Lab's 4th defeat & Kinnock resigned as leader
- after the 1987 defeat more radical changes were adopted
- e.g the nuclear disarmament policy was ditched after 1987
- Cold War ended 1989 so less of an issue anyway
- e.g the nuclear disarmament policy was ditched after 1987
- despite the lead in the opinion polls, Lab. failed to win the 1992 election
- Lab. reduced the Cons. majority to just 21 seats in the 1992 election
- Neil Kinnock
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