Kinnock, Neil Gordon definition of Kinnock, Neil Gordon in the Free Online Encyclopedia.

Kinnock, Neil Gordon (kĭn`ək), 1942–, British politician, b. Tredegar, Wales. The son of a miner, he studied at University College, Cardiff. In 1970 he was elected to Parliament as a Labour party Labour party, British political party, one of the two dominant parties in Great Britain since World War I.

Origins

The Labour party was founded in 1900 after several generations of preparatory trade union politics made possible by the Reform Bills of
..... Click the link for more information. member. After Labour's defeat in the 1979 elections, he became party education spokesperson. He became party leader after Labour's overwhelming defeat in the 1983 elections. A gifted orator, Kinnock persuaded the party to abandon some of its traditional left-wing positions, such as unilateral disarmament and widespread nationalization, and adopt more moderate policies. In 1992, the Conservatives again defeated Labour in a national election in which the electorate's questioning of Kinnock's ability to lead the nation was a major factor. After this loss, he resigned the party leadership. He remained in Parliament until 1995, when he was appointed to the European Union's European Commission European Commission, branch of the governing body of the European Union (EU) invested with executive and some legislative powers. Located in Brussels, Belgium, it was founded in 1967 when the three treaty organizations comprising what was then the European Community
..... Click the link for more information. ; he served as its vice president from 1999 to 2004. He was created Baron Kinnock of Bedwellty in 2005.

Bibliography

See R. Harris, The Making of Neil Kinnock (1984).