119-610: Thomas Sheridan (born 7 March 1964) is a Scottish politician who served as convenor of Solidarity from 2019 to 2021. He previously served as convenor of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) from 1998 to 2004 and as co-convenor of Solidarity from 2006 to 2016. He was a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region from 1999 to 2007. Sheridan was active as a Militant entryist in
238-711: A landslide defeat to Margaret Thatcher in the 1983 election , Kinnock was elected Leader of the Labour Party and Leader of the Opposition. During his tenure as leader, Kinnock proceeded to fight the party's left wing , especially the Militant tendency , and he opposed NUM leader Arthur Scargill 's methods in the 1984–1985 miners' strike . He led the party during most of the Thatcher government , which included its third successive election defeat when Thatcher won
357-690: A teetotaller , reportedly drank champagne and consumed cocaine during an extramarital liaison. Sheridan denies drinking the champagne and the claim of substance abuse. Eleven members of the SSP 's executive committee testified that he admitted in an executive committee meeting to attending a swingers club with women, but another four members of the SSP who were present at that Executive meeting backed Sheridan's claim that he made no such admission at that meeting. On 14 July 2006, Sheridan sacked his legal team and began representing himself. His cross-examination of witnesses
476-552: A Commissioner was due to expire on 30 October 2004, but was delayed owing to the withdrawal of the new Commissioners. During this second term of office on the Commission, he was responsible for introducing new staff regulations for EU officials, a significant feature of which was substantial salary cuts for everyone employed after 1 May 2004, reduced pension prospects for many others, and gradually worsening employment conditions. This made him disliked by many EU staff members, although
595-744: A Glasgow hotel, had been approached by Lynn who asked her not to give evidence. Lynn was once jailed for 17 years for shooting an Ulster barman. On 1 October 2006, the News of the World reignited controversy by publishing new evidence in support of its claim that Sheridan lied to the Court of Session. It was a video recording of Sheridan admitting he had visited a swingers club in Manchester on two occasions and further, that he had, as other senior SSP members claimed in court, admitted this at an Executive meeting of
714-518: A SSP MSP for South of Scotland led a breakaway. Solidarity launched on 3 September with 600 people attending the first meeting in Glasgow . Most SSP members and branches in the Highlands and Islands defected to the new party, while the Shetland membership voted unanimously to stay in the SSP. 250 people attended the founding conference on Saturday 5 November 2006. The new party was backed by
833-510: A budget crisis in the Militant-dominated Liverpool City Council . Kinnock attacked Militant and their conduct in a speech delivered at the conference: I'll tell you what happens with impossible promises. You start with far-fetched resolutions. They are then pickled into a rigid dogma, a code, and you go through the years sticking to that, outdated, misplaced, irrelevant to the real needs, and you end in
952-633: A by-election just over a year earlier. A few months after the general election, Kinnock gained brief attention in the United States in August 1987 when it was discovered that then-US Senator Joe Biden of Delaware (and future 46th President ) plagiarised one of Kinnock's speeches during his 1988 presidential campaign in a speech at a Democratic Party debate in Iowa . This led to Biden's withdrawal of his presidential campaign. The two men met after
1071-613: A crime against humanity and should be removed from the Clyde and from Britain." In September 2006, Tommy Sheridan formed a new political party in Scotland named Solidarity , with himself and fellow MSP Rosemary Byrne as joint convenors. Sheridan narrowly failed to be re-elected in the 2007 Holyrood election as top of his party's list nominees for Glasgow. The party also stood a candidate in by-elections in 2008 in Glasgow East and
1190-531: A demonstration in February 2000. He was convicted on this count, and for resisting arrest, when the case came to trial in November, and was fined £250. Believing nuclear weapons to be illegal under international law, Sheridan made it clear at the time that he had no intention of paying the fine. He served five days of a 14-day jail sentence the next month for this reason, and was released on 22 December. Sheridan
1309-611: A future general election. Although Kinnock had come from the Tribune left wing of the party, he parted company with many of his former allies following his appointment to the Shadow Cabinet. The Labour Party was also threatened by the rise of the Social Democratic Party / Liberal Alliance , which pulled out more centrist adherents. On a broader perspective, the traditional Labour voter was disappearing in
SECTION 10
#17327943136161428-560: A guest host of the programme. Kinnock announced his resignation as Leader of the Labour Party on 13 April 1992, ending nearly a decade in the role. John Smith , previously Shadow Chancellor, was elected on 18 July as his successor. Kinnock remained on the Advisory Council of the Institute for Public Policy Research , which he helped set up in the 1980s. Kinnock was an enthusiastic supporter of Ed Miliband 's campaign for
1547-691: A jury found Sheridan guilty of perjury and on 26 January 2011 he was sentenced to 3 years in prison. Initially he was held in Barlinnie prison in Glasgow, but after several weeks he was moved to a semi-open wing in Barlinnie, and on 21 June he was moved to Castle Huntly open prison . Sheridan was released to a Home Detention Curfew on 30 January 2012, having served just over one year of his sentence. Sheridan and Aamer Anwar subsequently parted company, with Gordon Dangerfield acting as his lawyer. In 2015
1666-463: A member of the Militant group while a student at Stirling University in around 1983, after being active in a broad-based anti-Trotskyist group including Liberals and Communists as well as Labour Party members. After graduation, he went to Cardonald College as a typing student as part of an (unsuccessful) effort on the part of Militant to recruit Scottish Labour Students in further education colleges. The Labour Party, led by Neil Kinnock at
1785-562: A narrow Labour victory or a hung parliament . Shortly afterwards, he resigned as Leader of the Labour Party; he was succeeded in the ensuing leadership election by John Smith . He left the House of Commons in 1995 to become a European Commissioner . He went on to become Vice-President of the European Commission under Romano Prodi from 1999 to 2004, before being elevated to the House of Lords as Baron Kinnock in 2005. Until
1904-490: A nationwide ballot. The NUM was widely regarded as the labour movement's praetorian guard and the strike convulsed the Labour movement. Kinnock supported the aim of the strike – which he dubbed the "case for coal" – but, as an MP from a mining area, was bitterly critical of the tactics employed. When heckled at a Labour Party rally for referring to the killing of David Wilkie as "an outrage", Kinnock lost his temper and accused
2023-878: A new pro-independence alliance. In March 2021 he and his wife Gail joined the Alba Party . Hearings in Sheridan's defamation case against the publishers of the News of the World began in the Court of Session in Edinburgh on 4 July 2006. Unusually in Scottish civil proceedings, the case was heard before a jury . The jury heard allegations that Sheridan had visited a swingers clubs in Manchester and engaged in adulterous affairs with two women. Sheridan, who claims to be
2142-437: A new statement of aims and values—meant to supplement and supplant the formulation of Clause IV of the party's constitution (though, crucially, this was not actually replaced until 1995 under the leadership of Tony Blair ) and was closely modelled on Anthony Crosland 's social-democratic thinking—emphasising equality rather than public ownership . At the same time, the Labour Party's commitment to unilateral nuclear disarmament
2261-588: A new, left-wing political party. Discussions were held with other left-wing and Scottish republican groups and a new group was formed in 1996 known initially as the Scottish Socialist Alliance . In 1998, the new Scottish Socialist Party was formed from the SSA. Differences over political strategy and priorities within the Committee for a Workers' International (CWI) soon surfaced, especially on
2380-532: A number of supporters. The majority in the group were now disenchanted with entryism, and chose to function outside Labour's ranks, forming the Socialist Party . In the three years leading up to the 1992 general election , Labour had consistently topped the opinion polls, with 1991 seeing the Conservatives (rejuvenated by the arrival of a new leader with John Major the previous November) snatch
2499-458: A perjurer, plotter and gold-digger. [...] I still find it astonishing, and not a little dispiriting, that anyone on the left – any decent human being in fact – could justify traducing a female socialist's character in court, not once, but twice, in order to protect a leading socialist politician's false reputation." On 4 August 2006, Sheridan won his case with a majority verdict of 7–4 and the jury awarded him maximum damages of £200,000. The News of
SECTION 20
#17327943136162618-547: A person and this kind of evidence should never solely be used to bring a criminal trial". Sheridan then suggested that MI5 , someone within the SSP, Rupert Murdoch and Bill Gates had conspired to concoct the videotape to undermine his campaign for an independent socialist Scotland. The conflicting evidence given during the trial resulted in the judge warning several witnesses about the implications of perjuring themselves. On Monday 7 August 2006, Lothian and Borders Police said they had received two complaints of perjury, one from
2737-515: A postgraduate diploma in education. Between August 1966 and May 1970, he worked as a tutor for a Workers' Educational Association (WEA). He married Glenys Kinnock in 1967. They have two children – son Stephen Kinnock (born January 1970, now a Labour MP), and daughter Rachel Kinnock (born 1971). Glenys died on 3 December 2023. In June 1969, Kinnock won the Labour Party nomination for Bedwellty in South Wales , which became Islwyn for
2856-510: A pre-trial hearing at Edinburgh High Court on 26 February. however this was postponed until 11 May. The trial started at Glasgow High Court on 4 October 2010. Sheridan's initial defence team included Donald Findlay , who was replaced by Maggie Scott . However, a few weeks into the case, Sheridan instructed his Solicitor Aamer Anwar , who had defended him since 2007, to withdraw Scott's instructions. He then conducted his own defence, with Anwar assisting him as amicus curiae . On 23 December 2010
2975-532: A seat at Westminster as a Respect party candidate in the May 2010 election. Solidarity did not field a candidate in the Glasgow region, lending support to Galloway, who stood as the Respect Party candidate. Solidarity performed poorly with a result of only 2,837 votes, or 0.14% of the regional vote, and won no seats in the Scottish Parliament. The party's issues were compounded when Solidarity leader Tommy Sheridan
3094-475: A shock to many when the Conservatives won a majority, but the 'triumphalism' perceived by some observers of a Labour Party rally in Sheffield (together with Kinnock's performance on the podium) may have helped put floating voters off. Although internal polls suggested no impact, while public polls suggested a decline in support had already occurred, most of those directly involved in the campaign believe that
3213-487: A speech to that year's Welsh Labour Party conference asking why he was the "first Kinnock in a thousand generations" to go to university . On polling day, Labour easily took second place, but with only a 31% share of the vote to the SDP-Liberal Alliance's 22%. Labour was still more than ten percentage points behind the Conservatives, who retained a three-figure majority in the House of Commons . However,
3332-450: A suspicious device was found in his car. The device was described as "not of the kind used by British security services". A complaint submitted to Strathclyde Police in July 2011 lead to Operation Rubicon , a major investigation involving 50 officers investigating allegations of phone hacking, breach of data protection and perjury by News of the World . In May 2012, Andy Coulson , editor of
3451-522: A transformation symbolised by a party election broadcast popularly known as "Kinnock: The Movie". This was directed by Hugh Hudson and featured Kinnock's 1985 conference speech, and shots of him and his wife Glenys walking on the Great Orme in Llandudno (so emphasising his appeal as a family man and associating him with images of Wales away from the coal mining communities where he grew up), and
3570-626: A vote at a special conference held in Bridlington in October 1991, defeating the faction around Militant founder Ted Grant who argued against abandoning the Labour Party. The result was a split in the Militant in what has become known as the 'Scottish Turn'; Scottish Militant Labour had gained six councillors in Glasgow by 1993, including Sheridan. With a strong Scottish National Party (SNP), Scottish Militant Labour argued in favour of founding
3689-410: A working peer for practical political reasons." When his peerage was first announced, he said: "It will give me the opportunity ... to contribute to the national debate on issues like higher education , research, Europe and foreign policy." His peerage meant that the Labour and Conservative parties were equal in numbers in the upper house of Parliament (subsequently the number of Labour members overtook
Tommy Sheridan - Misplaced Pages Continue
3808-434: Is "a red herring" and that the same result would have happened without the rally. On the day of the general election, The Sun newspaper ran a front page featuring Kinnock with the headline 'If Kinnock wins today, will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights.' In his resignation speech , Kinnock blamed The Sun for Labour losing the election, along with other right-wing media sections who had backed
3927-406: The News of the World and was awarded £200,000 damages. The following year, he was charged with perjury for having told lies to the court in his defamation case. In the following weeks, six of his relatives and colleagues were also charged. In October 2010, he appeared together with his wife Gail at a trial for perjury . On 23 December 2010, Sheridan was convicted of perjury, and on 26 January he
4046-595: The 1983 general election . He was first elected to the House of Commons on 18 June 1970, and became a member of the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party in October 1978. Upon his becoming an MP, his father said "Remember Neil, MP stands not just for Member of Parliament, but also for Man of Principle." In the 1975 referendum on Britain's membership of the European Communities , Kinnock campaigned for Britain to leave
4165-455: The 1987 general election . Although Thatcher had won another landslide, Labour regained sufficient seats for Kinnock to remain Leader of the Opposition following the election. Kinnock led the Labour Party to a surprise fourth consecutive defeat at the 1992 general election , despite the party being ahead of John Major 's Conservative government in most opinion polls, which had predicted either
4284-543: The 2007 Scottish Parliament election . The party won one council seat in Glasgow in local elections , with Ruth Black taking the Craigton seat, then subsequently defected to Labour in December 2007 after Sheridan was charged with perjury. They fielded a candidate in the 2008 Glasgow East by-election who came sixth. In March 2009 Solidarity joined No to EU – Yes to Democracy , a left-wing eurosceptic coalition for
4403-621: The 2009 European Parliament elections , which received 9,693 votes (0.9%) in Scotland. Sheridan stood for election to Westminster in 2010 under the Trade Unionist and Socialist Coalition banner, winning 931 votes (2.9%) in Glasgow South West and losing his deposit. Ahead of the 2011 Scottish Parliament election Solidarity explored the possibility of coalition with George Galloway . In January Galloway had announced his intention to stand for Holyrood after failing to gain
4522-413: The 2011 Scottish Parliament election , achieving only 2,837 votes or 0.14% of the overall regional list vote. Solidarity formally ended its existence as a political party in December 2021, giving its support to the Alba Party instead. The Scottish Socialist Party returned six MSPs in the 2003 Scottish Parliament election . At the end of August 2006, the SSP's leader Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne,
4641-445: The 2016 Scottish Parliament election . Solidarity fielded 40 candidates across Scotland's eight regional lists for the 2016 election. At the 2016 elections the party received 14,333 votes (0.6% of the electorate) across all the regions and returned none of their candidates. However they gained the largest number of votes among the left wing parties in Scotland making them the third most supported pro-independence party in Scotland behind
4760-477: The Crown Office had asked Lothian and Borders Police to undertake a full inquiry after receiving a preliminary report. In May 2007, it was reported that staff at Cupid's Swingers Club in Manchester had told police they had been offered bribes not to co-operate with the inquiry. On 16 December 2007, Sheridan was charged with perjury in relation to the News of the World case. In a public statement outside
4879-688: The European Parliament election in 1994 as the SML candidate in Glasgow, and came third with 8% of votes cast. Sheridan was a leading figure in negotiations to establish the Scottish Socialist Alliance in 1996, which evolved into the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) in 1998. He became the convenor of the party and was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as a Glasgow representative and re-elected in 2003 . Together with Alan McCombes he published Imagine , an outline of
Tommy Sheridan - Misplaced Pages Continue
4998-601: The Fulham seat in West London from the Conservatives at an April by-election. Labour, now sporting a continental social democratic style emblem of a rose (replacing the party's first logo, the Liberty logo), appeared to be able to run the governing Conservatives close, but Margaret Thatcher did not let Labour's makeover go unchallenged. The Conservatives's 1986 conference was well-managed, and effectively relaunched
5117-554: The Glenrothes , and Sheridan himself stood in the 2009 Glasgow North East by-election . Sheridan stood as a candidate in the 2009 European Parliament elections for No to EU – Yes to Democracy , a left-wing alter-globalisation coalition led by RMT union leader Bob Crow . Sheridan resigned as the co-convenor of Solidarity in June 2016, but returned as convener in 2019. In 2020, Solidarity signed up for Action for Independence ,
5236-518: The Labour Party until 1989 when Labour expelled him, and became a member of Scottish Militant Labour (SML), which eventually became the core of the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP). He was a prominent campaigner against the Poll tax in Scotland, and was jailed for six months for attending a warrant sale in 1991 after Glasgow Sheriff Court had served a court order on him banning his presence. He
5355-552: The News of the World from 2003 – 2007 and who gave evidence at Sheridan's trial, was detained "on suspicion of committing perjury before the High Court in Glasgow". On 7 July 2014, following Coulson's conviction on phone hacking charges, Coulson himself faced perjury charges over Sheridan's trial, and on 23 February 2015, a pre-evidential hearing at the High Court in Edinburgh set a trial date of 21 April. On 3 June 2015, Coulson
5474-611: The Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission declined to refer the case to the High Court. A "Defend Tommy Sheridan" campaign was launched by sympathetic trade unionists and politicians to demand why Sheridan was being investigated. In December 2007, Sunday Herald columnist Iain MacWhirter said it was "hard not to conclude that the police's diligence has been inspired by Rupert Murdoch's News International." The campaign drew support from
5593-538: The Socialist Workers Party and Socialist Party Scotland (part of the Committee for a Workers' International ). The two groups clashed at the first Solidarity conference on the political orientation of the party. After a close vote the interim title of "Solidarity – Scotland's Socialist Movement" was adopted as the name of the party, and Rosemary Byrne and Tommy Sheridan were unanimously endorsed as co-convenors. The party failed to win any seats in
5712-538: The University of Stirling , where he received a degree in economics. He obtained a MSc in Social Research at the University of Strathclyde in 2008. He studied law at Strathclyde Law School , on the two-year fast track degree, graduating in 2015. He also played football at Junior level with Larkhall Thistle , Benburb , East Kilbride Thistle , Baillieston Juniors and St Anthony's . Sheridan became
5831-545: The BBC, Sheridan said: "I utterly condemn any threats to Fiona McGuire or any other individual". On 26 August 2007, the Sunday Herald reported that John Lynn had been questioned by detectives about allegations of witness tampering. Lynn is reportedly an associate of Paul Ferris , a reformed criminal who has become friendly with Sheridan. The report said Helen Allison, who claimed in court that she saw Sheridan having sex in
5950-527: The Common Market. Following Labour's defeat at the 1979 general election , James Callaghan appointed Kinnock to the Shadow cabinet as education spokesman. His ambition was noted by other MPs, and David Owen 's opposition to the changes to the electoral college was thought to be motivated by the realisation that they would favour Kinnock's succession. Kinnock remained as education spokesman following
6069-640: The Conservative government's majority had come down from 144 seats in 1983 to 102. Significantly, Labour had gained twenty seats at the election. Labour won extra seats in Scotland , Wales and Northern England , but lost ground particularly in Southern England and London , where the Conservatives still dominated. The Conservatives also regained the Fulham seat which it had lost to Labour at
SECTION 50
#17327943136166188-521: The Conservatives as a party of radical free-market economic liberalism . Labour suffered from a persistent image of extremism, especially as Kinnock's campaign to root out Militant dragged on as figures on the hard left of the party tried to stop its progress. Opinion polls showed that voters favoured retaining the United Kingdom's nuclear weapons , (Labour's policy, supported by Kinnock, was of unilateral nuclear disarmament ), and believed that
6307-561: The Conservatives at the 1989 European elections , winning 40% of the vote; the first time Labour had finished in first place at a national election in fifteen years. In December 1989, Kinnock abandoned the Labour policy on closed shops —a decision seen by many as a move away from traditional socialist policies to a more European-wide agenda, and also a move to rid the party of its image of being run by trade unions . Michael Heseltine challenged Thatcher's leadership and she resigned on 28 November 1990 to be succeeded by then- Chancellor of
6426-544: The Conservatives in the opinion polls (an Ipsos MORI poll in April 1990 had actually shown Labour as being more than 20 points ahead of the Conservatives), but many opinion polls were actually showing the Conservatives with a higher amount of support than Labour, in spite of the deepening recession . By now Militant had finally been routed in the party, and their two MPs were expelled at the end of 1991, in addition to
6545-637: The Conservatives in the run-up to the election. The following day's headline in The Sun was ' It's The Sun Wot Won It ', which Rupert Murdoch – many years later, at his April 2012 appearance before the Leveson Inquiry – stated was both 'tasteless and wrong' and led to the editor Kelvin MacKenzie receiving a reprimand. The Labour-supporting Daily Mirror had backed Kinnock for the 1987 general election and did so again in 1992. Less expected
6664-616: The Conservatives would be better than Labour at defending the country. In early 1987, Labour lost a by-election in Greenwich to the SDP 's Rosie Barnes . As a result, Labour faced the 1987 general election in some danger of finishing third in the popular vote, with the Conservatives once again expected to secure a comfortable victory. In secret, Labour's aim was to secure second place in order to remain as Official Opposition . Mandelson and his team had revolutionised Labour's communications –
6783-496: The Exchequer , John Major . Kinnock greeted Thatcher's resignation by describing it as "very good news" and demanded an immediate general election. Public reaction to Major's elevation was highly positive. A new Prime Minister and the fact that Kinnock was now the longest-serving current leader of a major party reduced the impact of calls for "Time for a Change". Neil Kinnock's showing in the opinion polls dipped; before Thatcher's resignation, Labour had been up to 10 points ahead of
6902-443: The Labour Party finally expelled the deputy leader of Liverpool council, the high-profile Militant supporter Derek Hatton , who was found guilty of "manipulating the rules of the district Labour party". By 1986, the party's position appeared to strengthen further with excellent local election results and a thorough rebranding of the party under the direction of Kinnock's director of communications Peter Mandelson , as well as seizing
7021-420: The Labour government was in favour of devolution for Wales . Kinnock was one of just six MPs in South Wales who campaigned against devolution, and personally backed an amendment to the Wales Act stating that devolution would require not only a simple majority , but also the backing of 40% of the entire electorate. He later clarified that he supports devolution in principle, but found the proposed settlement at
7140-455: The Leadership of the Labour Party in 2010, and was reported as telling activists, when Miliband won, "We've got our party back" – although Miliband, like Kinnock, failed to lead the party back into government, and resigned after the Conservatives were re-elected with a small majority in 2015 . Labour received their lowest seat tally under Miliband since the 1987 general election; when Kinnock was leader at that time. In 2011, he participated in
7259-596: The SNP and the Scottish Green Party. In June 2016 Sheridan resigned from his position as co-convener of the Solidarity, and Councillor Pat Lee elected to replace him alongside Byrne. The party campaigned in favour of the United Kingdom leaving the European Union during the 2016 referendum . Solidarity had one elected official in Scotland: Councillor Pat Lee in South Lanarkshire . Lee was elected as an SNP councillor and defected to Solidarity in May 2015. Solidarity has been accused of using entryist tactics in North Lanarkshire , with it being claimed that activists close to
SECTION 60
#17327943136167378-403: The SSP. The tape had been made without Sheridan's knowledge using a hidden camera by SSP member George McNeilage in McNeilage's house after he invited Sheridan there. McNeilage had been one of three best men at Sheridan's wedding. Sheridan does not appear clearly on the video at any time. The newspaper has not been able to produce any images from the video showing Sheridan's face and Sheridan says
7497-399: The Welsh family history television programme Coming Home where he discovered hitherto unknown information about his family. Kinnock was appointed one of the UK's two members of the European Commission , which he served first as Transport Commissioner under President Jacques Santer , in early 1995; marking the end of his 25 years in the House of Commons. This came less than a year after
7616-405: The World has appealed the verdict. In the Scottish Socialist Voice of 8 August, a letter signed by a further six leading members of the SSP claimed that Sheridan had told them that he had admitted at an SSP Executive meeting to attending the Manchester swingers club. The News of the World intended to appeal against what they described as the "perverse" decision in the immediate aftermath of
7735-414: The annual conference of the SSP in early 2005, Sheridan was elected to the SSP executive and at the March 2006 conference, he was elected as party co-chair. However Sheridan left the SSP in August 2006, accusing the SSP of being part of "the mother of all stitch-ups" involving not only their leadership, but also MI5 and News International . He launched a new political party called Solidarity . Sheridan
7854-434: The attitude to the court actions, the NUM leadership ensured that they would face crippling damages as a consequence. To the question: "How did this position arise?", the man from the lodge in my constituency said: "It arose because nobody really thought it out." In 2004, Kinnock said of Scargill, "Oh I detest him. I did then, I do now, and it's mutual. He hates me as well. And I'd much prefer to have his savage hatred than even
7973-532: The autumn he had insisted that there would be no general election in 1991. Labour had gained four seats from the Conservatives in by-elections since the 1987 general election , having initially suffered disappointing results in some by-elections, namely a loss of the Govan constituency in Glasgow to the Scottish National Party in November 1988. However, by the end of 1991, the Conservative majority still stood at 88 seats and Labour needed to win more than ninety new seats to gain an overall majority, although there
8092-416: The continuing presence of ninety hereditary peers and appointment by patronage, by asserting that the Lords was a good base for campaigning. On 28 January 2005, he was created a life peer as Baron Kinnock, of Bedwellty in the County of Gwent , and was introduced to the House of Lords on 31 January 2005. On assuming his seat, he stated: "I accepted the kind invitation to enter the House of Lords as
8211-478: The death of his successor, John Smith and the election of Tony Blair as the party's new leader. He was obliged to resign as part of the forced, collective resignation of the Commission in 1999. He was re-appointed to the Commission under new President Romano Prodi . He now became one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Commission, with responsibility for Administrative Reform and the Audit, Linguistics and Logistics Directorates General. His term of office as
8330-449: The end of October, it was announced that he would become a Member of the House of Lords (intending to be a working peer), when he was able to leave his EU responsibilities. In 1977, he had remained in the House of Commons, with Dennis Skinner , while other MPs walked to the Lords to hear the Queen's speech opening the new parliament. He had dismissed going to the Lords in recent interviews. Kinnock explained his change of attitude, despite
8449-399: The executive committee, Graham McIver and Pat Smith, gave evidence that Sheridan made no such statement. The minutes record that Sheridan left the meeting early, but before leaving, "he repeated that he did not believe there was any evidence which would prove him to be lying. He did not accept that he should admit the visits to the club and felt that no-one should comment on private lives". At
8568-478: The face of de-industrialisation that the Conservative government had accepted since 1979. Kinnock focused on modernising the party, and upgrading its technical skills such as use of the media and keeping track of voters, while at the same time battling the Militants. Under his leadership, the Labour Party abandoned unpopular old positions, especially the nationalisation of certain industries, although this process
8687-601: The following month aged 61. In 1953, at eleven years old, Kinnock began his secondary education at Lewis School, Pengam , which he later criticised for its record on caning . He went on to the University College of South Wales and Monmouthshire in Cardiff (now Cardiff University), where he graduated in 1965 with a degree in Industrial Relations and History. The following year, Kinnock obtained
8806-524: The former Conservative MSP Brian Monteith , the other alleged to be from the SSP's minutes secretary. On 22 August 2006, the Crown Office instructed the Edinburgh Procurators Fiscal office to ascertain if there were grounds for a criminal investigation. On 2 October 2006, it was concluded that there were and Lothian and Borders Police were instructed to start a criminal investigation. On 21 February 2007, The Herald reported that
8925-505: The grotesque chaos of a Labour council – a Labour council – hiring taxis to scuttle round a city handing out redundancy notices to its own workers ... I am telling you, no matter how entertaining, how fulfilling to short-term egos – you can't play politics with people's jobs and with people's services or with their homes. One Liverpool MP, Eric Heffer , a member of the NEC left the conference stage in disgust at Kinnock's comments. In June 1986,
9044-493: The hecklers of "living like parasites off the struggle of the miners" and implied that Scargill had lied to the striking miners. In 1985, he made his criticisms public in a speech to Labour's conference: The strike wore on. The violence built up because the single tactic chosen was that of mass picketing, and so we saw policing on a scale and with a system that has never been seen in Britain before. The court actions came, and by
9163-447: The impending redundancy of parliamentary staff, and unilaterally removing funding from the collective body which employed parliamentary staff. In March 2016 several leading activists left the party, citing its failure to adequately respond to members' reports of bullying and harassment. Solidarity announced that Park would be bringing a defamation case against The National in relation to these allegations. On 19 November 2021, it
9282-421: The incident, forming a lasting friendship. The second period of Kinnock's leadership was dominated by his drive to reform the party's policies to gain office. This began with an exercise dubbed the policy review , the most high-profile aspect of which was a series of consultations with the public known as " Labour Listens " in the autumn of 1987. Following Labour Listens, the party went on, in 1988, to produce
9401-560: The issue of Scottish independence, leading to a split within the CWI and Sheridan along with the majority of Scottish supporters left the organisation. Sheridan fought two elections while in prison, coming second in the Pollok constituency at the 1992 general election , gaining nearly 20%, a result ahead of three candidates, but behind the elected Labour Party MP. A few weeks later he won the Pollok ward on Glasgow District Council . He contested
9520-506: The lead from Labour more than once before Labour regained it. The rise in Conservative support came in spite of the economic recession and sharp rise in unemployment which affected Britain in 1991. Since Major's election as Leader of the Conservative Party (and becoming Prime Minister), Kinnock had spent the end of 1990 and most of 1991 putting pressure on Major to call a general election that year, but Major had held out and by
9639-433: The meeting gave evidence that they had heard Sheridan acknowledge he had been "reckless" in his behaviour which had, with hindsight, been "a mistake" and that "his strategy was to deny the allegations". Sheridan claimed this minute was not accurate. Eleven members, including four of the party's MSPs, stated they heard Sheridan admit to visiting the swingers' club at that meeting. Rosemary Byrne MSP and two other members of
9758-519: The merest hint of friendship from that man." Kinnock blamed Scargill for some of the mine closures. The strike's defeat early in the year, and the bad publicity associated with the entryism practised by the Trotskyist Militant group were the immediate context for the 1985 Labour Party conference. Earlier in the year, left-wing councils had protested at Government restriction of their budgets by refusing to set budgets, resulting in
9877-442: The names of alleged rioters, and partly as a result of police acting on such information, over 100 individuals were jailed. With Joan McAlpine , he published A Time to Rage which chronicled the anti-poll tax movement of the late-1980s and early-1990s. McAlpine has since written about the Sheridan she became close to, with reference in particular to the defamation case . As the highest profile Militant member in Scotland, Sheridan
9996-473: The number of Conservative members for many years). Kinnock was a long-time critic of the House of Lords, and his acceptance of a peerage led him to be accused of hypocrisy, by Will Self , among others. Kinnock is a supporter of Welsh devolution, with proposals for a Welsh Assembly included in the Labour Party's 1992 manifesto when he was leader. However, in the build up to the 1979 Welsh devolution referendum ,
10115-426: The paper. He later branded those who refused to support him as "scabs". The minutes of the meeting which detailed the deliberations leading to Sheridan's resignation were kept confidential until subpoenaed by News International . After he refused to release the minutes to the Court of Session , Alan McCombes was jailed for twelve days by Judge Lady Smith . At an emergency meeting of the party's National Council, it
10234-519: The party have infiltrated SNP branches in the area. Solidarity's split from the SSP was beset by a number of controversies. In the immediate aftermath of Solidarity's launch members of the SSP claimed that a transfer of funds from the account of the regional SSP to Solidarity was fraudulent. In Autumn 2006, the Industrial Workers of the World alleged that Sheridan and Byrne betrayed workers by ignoring their right of consultation about
10353-520: The party's executive committee voted unanimously to force Sheridan to resign after a 9 November meeting in which he confirmed stories printed about a then-unnamed MSP were about him, and indicated he would take legal action against the paper. Following Sheridan's resignation, the News of the World named him as the MSP they said had had an extramarital affair and visited a swingers' club in Manchester . The party declined to support him in legal action against
10472-556: The police station he attributed his arrest to the "powerful reach" of the Murdoch press. During February 2008, his wife Gail, former SSP MSP Rosemary Byrne , former members of the SSP Executive Committee, Patricia Smith, Graeme McIver, Jock Penman, and Sheridan's father-in-law, Angus Healey, were also charged with perjury. On 27 January 2009, Sheridan and his wife were indicted for perjury, and were summoned to attend
10591-515: The politician George Galloway and leading trade unionist Bob Crow (RMT). At a June 2008 rally organised by the campaign, speakers including FBU secretary Kenny Ross, Paddy Hill , and Gerry Conlon queried the motives for the investigation, questioned the role of the police and Crown Office and verbally attacked the witnesses who had given evidence unhelpful to Sheridan in the original hearing. In March 2007, Lothian and Borders Police investigated claims that Tommy Sheridan had been bugged after
10710-713: The pressure on budgets that largely drove these changes had actually been imposed on the Commission from above by the Member States in Council. In February 2004, it was announced that with effect from 1 November 2004, Kinnock would become head of the British Council . Coincidentally, at the same time, his son Stephen became head of the British Council branch in Saint Petersburg , Russia. At
10829-551: The principles of socialism for a modern era. Sheridan was active in implementing long-needed changes in Scottish law, including the Abolition of Poindings and Warrant Sales Act 2001 , which he introduced as bills in Holyrood on 6 December 2001. On 11 November 2004, Sheridan stepped down as convenor of the SSP, citing his wife Gail's pregnancy as a prime reason. The resignation was steeped in controversy. It later emerged that
10948-415: The rally only came to widespread attention after the electoral defeat itself, with Kinnock himself changing his mind to a rejection of its negative impact over time. In an essay exploring why Kinnock never became Prime Minister, Steve Richards notes that the impact of the rally on the 1992 election "acquired a mythological status as fatal event" after Labour's defeat. He further argues that this explanation
11067-604: The refusal to pay the tax, together with resistance to warrant sales which local councils held to try to recoup the money, was ultimately successful and Sheridan became a popular political figure. Sheridan denounced those who fought the police in the large-scale riot against the poll tax in London – which took place on 31 March 1990, the day before the tax was introduced in England and Wales – and publicly threatened to "name names". The police widely advertised for people to tell them
11186-445: The resignation of Callaghan as Leader of the Labour Party and the election of Michael Foot as his successor in late 1980. In 1981, while still serving as Labour's education spokesman, Kinnock was alleged to have effectively scuppered Tony Benn 's attempt to replace Denis Healey as Labour's Deputy Leader by first supporting the candidacy of the more traditionalist Tribunite John Silkin and then urging Silkin supporters to abstain on
11305-513: The rhetoric of class warfare. These actions meant that Kinnock had made plenty of enemies on the left wing of the party by the time he was elected as leader, though a substantial number of former Bennites gave him strong support. He was almost immediately in serious difficulty as a result of Arthur Scargill 's decision to lead his union, the National Union of Mineworkers (NUM) into a national strike (in opposition to pit closures) without
11424-450: The scene, and being ahead in the opinion polls. In the end, though, Kinnock won a decisive victory over Benn and would soon enjoy a substantial rise in support. The policy review — reporting in 1989 —coincided with Labour's move ahead in the polls as the poll tax row was destroying Conservative support, and Labour won big victories in local council elections as well as several parliamentary by-elections during 1989 and 1990. Labour overtook
11543-532: The second, run-off, ballot. Kinnock was known as a left-winger , and gained prominence for his attacks on Margaret Thatcher 's handling of the Falklands War in 1982. Following Labour's landslide defeat at the 1983 general election , Michael Foot resigned as Leader of the Labour Party aged 69, and from the outset; it was expected that the much younger Kinnock would succeed him. He was finally elected as Labour Party leader on 2 October 1983, with 71% of
11662-483: The summer of 2009, he was also the chairman of the British Council and the president of Cardiff University . Kinnock, an only child, was born in Tredegar , Wales on Saturday 28 March 1942. His father, Gordon Herbert Kinnock was a former coal miner who later worked as a labourer; and his mother Mary Kinnock (née Howells) was a district nurse. Gordon died of a heart attack in November 1971 aged 64; Mary died
11781-524: The time, found that Militant contravened the Labour Party constitution, and Sheridan himself was expelled from the Labour Party in 1989 for "bringing the party into disrepute". From within Militant, he was the public face of a mass non-payment campaign against the Community Charge in Scotland (where it was introduced a year earlier than other parts of the UK "as an experiment"). The campaign involving
11900-411: The trial, and a provisional date for the hearing was set for December 2007, however it was postponed until the outcome of the procurator fiscal 's perjury probe. On 10 October 2006, BBC News reported that Grampian Police were investigating a claim by Fiona McGuire, who had been a witness in the trial for the News of the World , that she had received a death threat through the post. In a statement to
12019-407: The video is a fake. He conceded his voice was on the tape but suggested it was spliced with clips of the voice of someone else. The News of the World claimed four independent voice analysts had confirmed that the voice on the tape is that of Tommy Sheridan. However, in an interview with the BBC a forensic speech scientist, Peter French, said: "Experts should never say conclusively they have identified
12138-460: The vote, and Roy Hattersley was elected as his deputy; their prospective partnership was considered to be a "dream ticket". His first period as party leader between the 1983 and 1987 general elections was dominated by his struggle with the hard-left Militant tendency , then still a dominant force in the party. Kinnock was determined to move the party's political standing to a more centrist position, in order to improve its chances of winning
12257-422: Was Vice-President of the European Commission from 1999 to 2004. Kinnock was considered to be on the soft left of the Labour Party. Born and raised in South Wales , Kinnock was first elected to the House of Commons in the 1970 general election . He became the Labour Party's shadow education minister after the Conservatives won power in the 1979 general election . After the party under Michael Foot suffered
12376-405: Was a political party in Scotland . The party launched on 3 September 2006, founded by two former Scottish Socialist Party MSPs, Tommy Sheridan and Rosemary Byrne , in the aftermath of Sheridan's libel action . On 23 December 2010, Sheridan was convicted of perjury during the 2006 defamation action, and sentenced to three years imprisonment on 26 January 2011. Solidarity performed poorly in
12495-403: Was a leading figure in the group's split in the early-1990s. Emboldened by the success of the campaign against the poll tax, many Militant members – particularly in Scotland – argued for the abandonment of entryism and for the creation of Scottish Militant Labour and Militant Labour in England and Wales as separate political parties. The argument was resolved when Sheridan and his supporters won
12614-463: Was agreed the minutes should be handed over — with only 60 delegates opposed — in order to secure McCombes' release the following day. The minutes included a discussion by the party's executive committee about a recent article that alleged a married MSP had visited a swingers' club in Manchester. According to the minute, Sheridan admitted that he had in fact visited the club on two occasions, in 1996 and 2002, with close friends. Some of those present at
12733-479: Was announced that Solidarity members would be asked to deregister the party and help build the newly formed Alba Party. Members endorsed this at their 2021 conference. Neil Kinnock Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock , PC (born 28 March 1942) is a Welsh politician who was Leader of the Opposition and Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992 . He was a Member of Parliament (MP) from 1970 to 1995, first for Bedwellty and then for Islwyn . He
12852-540: Was arrested again at Faslane on 22 October 2001 shortly after the protest began at 7 am. He was cleared when the case came to court in June 2002, the Justice of the Peace said there was insufficient evidence. Another acquittal in October 2001, this time regarding a February 2001 protest, led to an appeal by the Crown Office , but this was rejected by the Court of Criminal Appeal in Edinburgh in October 2002. Sheridan
12971-409: Was convicted of perjury following a 12-week-long court case at the High Court in Glasgow, and was sentenced to three years' imprisonment on 26 January 2011. He was released in early 2012. At the start of 2015 Solidarity faced its own split as Socialist Party Scotland withdrew its support for the party and said that Sheridan had moved to the right. The party registered the name Hope Over Fear for
13090-414: Was described by one left commentator as "sickening", singling out the cross-examination of Katrine Trolle: "Sheridan questioned her about their sexual history, which included visits to Cupids with Sheridan and group sex encounters with him and his brother-in-law, Andrew McFarlane. When she stated that she was embarrassed about her past, but that she was telling the truth, Sheridan unflinching brandished her as
13209-539: Was dropped, and reforms of Party Conference and the National Executive meant that local parties lost much of their ability to influence policy. In 1988, Kinnock was challenged by Tony Benn for the party leadership. Later many identified this as a particularly low period in Kinnock's leadership — as he appeared mired in internal battles after five years of leadership with the Conservatives still dominating
13328-520: Was elected to the Scottish Parliament in 1999 as a Glasgow representative and re-elected in 2003 despite, in 2000 and 2002, being jailed over the non-payment of fines levied in connection with breach of the peace convictions resulting from his actions at demonstrations against the presence of the nuclear fleet at the Faslane Naval Base . In 2006, in the case of Sheridan v News International , he won an action for defamation against
13447-446: Was formally acquitted after the case against him was dismissed by a judge. An appeal hearing at the Court of Session in Edinburgh against the 2006 defamation award in light of Sheridan's later perjury conviction began on 10 May 2016. New Group Newspapers (now part of News UK ) lost their appeal against the award of £200,000 damages to Sheridan on 19 August 2016. Solidarity (Scotland) Solidarity – Scotland's Socialist Movement
13566-489: Was not completed until future party leader Tony Blair revamped Clause IV in the party's manifesto in 1995. He stressed economic growth, which had a much broader appeal to the middle class than the idea of redistributing wealth to benefit the poor. He accepted membership in the European Economic Community , whereas the party had pledged immediate withdrawal from it under Michael Foot . He discarded
13685-488: Was one of the first to be arrested for a breach of the peace at a demonstration at Faslane on 11 February 2002. He was found guilty in February 2003 and fined £200, but he refused to pay and was sent to prison for non-payment on 25 August 2003. This time, he was sentenced to seven days in jail, serving 3 days, plus the night in custody after his arrest. Before presenting himself for arrest at Glasgow police station on 24 August 2003, Sheridan had told reporters: "Nuclear weapons are
13804-512: Was originally set to re-contest the post Scottish Socialist Party convenor at the October 2006 conference, and Colin Fox claimed he had only established the new party because he did not stand a chance of winning back that role as SSP convenor. Sheridan was first arrested at the Faslane nuclear base, the location of Britain's Trident submarine fleet, for a breach of the peace offence committed during
13923-719: Was sentenced to three years' imprisonment. The charges against his wife were withdrawn. In the light of the News of the World phone hacking affair , the Crown Office was ordered to reassess the case in 2011. Sheridan left prison in January 2012 under automatic early release rules. Sheridan's mother was Alice Sheridan, a political activist who stood as a candidate for political groups involving her son. Sheridan, raised in Roman Catholic faith, attended St Monica's Primary ( Pollok ) and Lourdes Secondary before studying at
14042-414: Was still the hope of forming a minority or coalition government if Labour failed to win a majority. In the run-up to the election, held on 9 April 1992, most opinion polls had suggested that the election would result in either a hung parliament or a small Labour majority. At the 1992 general election , Labour made considerable progress – reducing the Conservatives' majority to just 21 seats. It came as
14161-468: Was the Financial Times backing Kinnock at the 1992 general election. Kinnock himself later claimed to have half-expected his defeat at the 1992 general election and proceeded to turn himself into a media personality, hosting a chat show on BBC Wales and twice appearing on the topical panel show Have I Got News for You within a year of the defeat. Many years later, he returned to appear as
#615384