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 having a formidable foe in Margaret Thatcher, conspired to keep Labour out of office for another fourteen 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 now ripe for rehabilitation. Modernisers 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.
Martin Westlake's balanced, thorough and insightful study of this much misunderstood figure will be essential reading for the politically informed.
