Michael Foot for his rumpled appearance. A centrist faction of the party broke away in 1981 to form the SDP. Foot led Labour into the 1983 general election, when the party obtained its lowest share of the vote since the 1918 general election and the fewest parliamentary seats it had had at any time since before 1945. He resigned after the election, and was succeeded as leader by Neil Kinnock. Among the books he authored are "Guilty Men" (1940); "The Pen and the Sword" (1957), a biography of Jonathan Swift; and a biography of Aneurin Bevan. Foot was born in Lipson Terrace,
1963 Labour Party (UK) leadership election by the continuing candidates. This process, known as the exhaustive ballot, was repeated until a candidate was elected. Three candidates were nominated. An overall majority was required for election. The results of the ballots of Labour MPs were as follows: As a result of the first ballot, Callaghan was eliminated. The remaining two candidates would face each other in a second ballot, seven days later. 1963 Labour Party (UK) leadership election The 1963 Labour Party leadership election was held following the death of Hugh Gaitskell, party leader since 1955. He died on 18 January 1963 and was succeeded (on a