1992 Labour Party leadership election (UK)

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1992 Labour Party leadership election
  1988 18 July 1992 (1992-07-18) 1994  
  Bryan Gould in 1992.jpg
Candidate John Smith Bryan Gould
Overall result91.0%9.0%
Affiliated unions 96.3%3.7%
Party members 98.0%2.0%
Labour MPs 77.1%22.9%

Leader before election

Neil Kinnock

Elected Leader

John Smith

The 1992 Labour Party leadership election followed the Labour Party's failure to win the 1992 general election and the subsequent resignation of party leader Neil Kinnock.

The Labour Party is a centre-left political party in the United Kingdom that has been described as an alliance of social democrats, democratic socialists and trade unionists. The party's platform emphasises greater state intervention, social justice and strengthening workers' rights.

1992 United Kingdom general election election for members of the British House of Commons

The 1992 United Kingdom general election was held on Thursday 9 April 1992, to elect 651 members to the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. The election resulted in the fourth consecutive victory for the Conservative Party since 1979 and the last time that the Conservatives would win a majority at a general election until 2015. This election result took many by surprise, as opinion polling leading up to the election day had shown the Labour Party, under leader Neil Kinnock, consistently, if narrowly, ahead.

Neil Kinnock British politician

Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock, 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.

Contents

There were only two candidates in the election, with John Smith always the clear favourite to win. [1] The ballot took place on 18 July 1992 at the Labour Party conference. Affiliated organisations had 40% of the vote, while Constituency Labour Parties and the Parliamentary Labour Party had 30% each in the electoral college. Gordon Brown and Robin Cook were both seen as potential candidates, but did not stand.

John Smith (Labour Party leader) Labour Party leader from Scotland

John Smith was a British Labour politician who served as Leader of the Labour Party from July 1992 until his death from a heart attack in May 1994.

Electoral college Set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office

An electoral college is a set of electors who are selected to elect a candidate to a particular office. Often these represent different organizations, political parties, or entities, with each organization, political party or entity represented by a particular number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way.

Gordon Brown Former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

James Gordon Brown is a British politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He served as Chancellor of the Exchequer from 1997 to 2007. Brown was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1983 to 2015, first for Dunfermline East and later for Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath.

John Smith was elected in a landslide victory with 91% of the vote.

A landslide victory is an electoral victory in a political system, when one candidate or party receives an overwhelming majority of the votes or seats in the elected body, thus all but utterly eliminating the opponents. The winning party has reached more voters than usual, and a landslide victory is often seen in hindsight as a turning point in people's views on political matters.

Candidates

Bryan Gould British politician

Bryan Charles Gould is a former British politician. He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1974 to 1979, and again from 1983 to 1994. He was a member of the Labour Party's Shadow Cabinet from 1986 to 1992, and stood unsuccessfully for the leadership of the party in 1992.

Dagenham (UK Parliament constituency) Parliamentary constituency in the United Kingdom, 1945-2010

Dagenham was a borough constituency represented in the House of Commons of the UK Parliament that elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. It was replaced at the 2010 general election largely by Dagenham and Rainham.

Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer

The Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer in the British Parliamentary system is the member of the Shadow Cabinet who is responsible for shadowing the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The title is in the gift of the Leader of the Opposition but is informal. The Shadow Chancellor has no constitutional role.

Result

Candidate [2] Affiliated block votes
(40%) [3]
CLP block votes
(30%)
PLP votes
(30%)
Overall result
Votes%Votes%Votes%%
John Smith Green check.svg4,82296.359798.022977.191.1
Bryan Gould 1873.7122.06822.99.0

John Smith was elected leader of the Labour Party with a clear majority.

Shortly after Black Wednesday in September 1992, Labour's lead in the opinion polls began to rise. By the time of his sudden death, Smith was widely predicted and expected to become prime minister at the next general election.

Black Wednesday Financial crisis

Black Wednesday occurred in the United Kingdom on 16 September 1992, when John Major's Conservative government was forced to withdraw the pound sterling from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) after it was unable to keep the pound above its agreed lower limit in the ERM. In 1997, the UK Treasury estimated the cost of Black Wednesday at £3.4 billion. In 2005, documents released under the Freedom of Information Act indicated that the actual cost may have been slightly less, £3.3 billion. At that time, the United Kingdom held the Presidency of the European Communities.

Opinion poll type of survey

An opinion poll, often simply referred to as a poll or a survey, is a human research survey of public opinion from a particular sample. Opinion polls are usually designed to represent the opinions of a population by conducting a series of questions and then extrapolating generalities in ratio or within confidence intervals.

In the event, he would only serve two years before his death, which precipitated another leadership election.

See also

Notes

  1. "A Plea for Bloodshed". The Economist . 18 April 1992. p. 64.
  2. Labour Party
  3. Under the rules at the time of the contest, block votes were cast by delegates and the Parliamentary Party at Labour Party Conference. Affiliated Unions held 40% of the votes, CLPs 30% and the PLP 30%.

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