Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 1992

Labour Party leadership election, 1992
18 July 1992 (1992-07-18)

 
Candidate John Smith Bryan Gould
Overall result 91.0% 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.

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

Candidates

Result

Candidate[2] Affiliated block votes
(40%)[3]		 CLP block votes
(30%)		 PLP votes
(30%)		 Overall result
Votes % Votes % Votes % %
John Smith Green tick 4,822 96.3 597 98.0 229 77.1 91.1
Bryan Gould 187 3.7 12 2.0 68 22.9 9.0

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.

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%.

References

  • Boothroyd, David. "Leaders of the Labour Party". United Kingdom Election Results. Retrieved 16 May 2015.
  • LeDuc, Lawrence (26–31 March 1999). "Leadership Selection and Party Renewal" (PDF). The Consequences of Candidate Selection. 27th ECPR Joint Sessions of Workshops. Mannheim: European Consortium for Political Research. pp. 8–12. Retrieved 16 May 2015.


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