MAKING NEIL KINNOCK:
Leaders of the Labour Party:
1963-1976: Harold Wilson
1976-1979: Michael Foot
1979-1984: Denis Healey
1984-: Neil Kinnock
Deputy Leaders of the Labour Party:
1960-1970: George Brown
1970-1972: Roy Jenkins
1972-1976: Ted Short
1976-1978: Shirley Williams
1978-1979: Denis Healey
1979-1984: Roy Hattersley
1984-: Micheal Meacher
Prime Ministers of Great Britain:
1974-1976: Harold Wilson (Labour)
1974 (Majority) def: Ted Heath (Conservative), Jeremy Thorpe (Liberal)
1976-1978: Michael Foot (Labour)
1978-1985: Margaret Thatcher (Conservative)
1978 (Majority) def: Michael Foot (Labour), Roy Jenkins-David Steel (Alliance)
1983 (Majority) def: Denis Healey (Labour), David Owen-David Steel (Alliance), Jeremy Corbyn (Solidarity)
1985-1988: Michael Heseltine (Conservative)
1986 (Coalition with *SDP) def: Neil Kinnock (Labour), David Owen (*SDP), Shirley Williams-David Steel (Alliance), Pat Wall (Solidarity)
1988-: Neil Kinnock (Labour)
1988 (Majority) def: Michael Heseltine (Conservative), Rosie Barnes (*SDP), Paddy Ashdown (Alliance), Liz Davies (Solidarity)
1976, Wilson steps down and whilst in the midst of a chaotic leadership election James Callaghan slips in the bath and suffers a concussion. Whilst not enough to stop him losing the first ballot it does give Jenkins a slight boost in support which makes him stay on the second ballot. With Jenkins and Callaghan splitting the Right, Foot manages to break in on the Left but any perception that this would mean Trotskyism and Red Flags in Britain was sadly mistaken. Foot's Government besieged by financial problems and other issues is unable to succeed in dealing with the raises in unemployment and problems with the Trade Unions, however Foot does decide to promote some new young radicals to the Front Bench with folks like Gould and importantly Kinnock getting some Junior Minister jobs. Kinnock in the dying rumblings of the Foot Government is briefly promoted to Secretary of Education as Roy Jenkins and Co decide that Labour's time is up and creates the Social Democrats decreeing that Benn was too strong an influence on Foot. In the spring of 1978, Labour goes to the polls and despite putting up a good fight, Thatcher wins a substantial majority as the Alliance bites into Labour's vote.
The subsequent leadership election is won by Denis Healey decisively against Peter Shore and the Right comes into power of the Labour Party machinations...it doesn't work out. The hunt against Militant becomes a clusterfuck and instead of a slow trickle and death of British Trotskyism the massive kick outs and perception by some on the Left that Militant is being unfairly treated by the Right means a bizarre gaggle of Bennites, Trots and Left Wing oddities join 'Solidarity'. The economy bounces back, Thatcher is rather popular and the Falklands occurs, leading to 1983 becoming a wash for Labour as Healey is unable to deal with the more modern campaigns of the Conservatives and Alliance with a landslide victory occurring for Thatcher. The subsequent leadership elections are considered a referendum on the Labour Right's ability to govern and with the Kinnock-Meacher ticket winning indicating that the answer is a firm 'NO'!
Kinnock helps correct the ship, leading a Modern but Left Wing Labour in reaction to the failure of the Labour Right to modernise either, meanwhile Solidarity's mask slips off during problems with the Liverpool Council, Thatcher battles Heseltine in 1985 over Westland and crashes and burns as Heseltine becomes leader and Owen starts disagreeing with David Steel. The chaos within the Conservative Government ripples outwards and what seems to be a definite Conservative victory becomes a hung parliament with Conservative advantage as Solidarity popularity tumbles off a cliff, Kinnock is able to use the chaos of the Tory Government to his advantage and David Owen nearly destroys the Alliance by taking the 'Gang of Four 2' with him into a coalition with the Conservatives. Within the next two chaotic years nothing much is done and Heseltine stays around by just his finger nails whilst Owen buggers off to the House of Lords in the Winter of 1988.
1988 Heseltine lose a vote of confidence and once again the parties go to the nation, and after 10 years of chaotic rule, Kinnock's stable vision of a Modern, Nuclear Free, Social Democratic Britain seems to appeal to the public over whatever Heseltine has to offer.
And so Kinnock wins and his vision of achieving a 'Bevanite 21st Century' as he joked at the 1987 Labour Party conference may turn out to be true...
This requires some editing
