1988 Labour Party (UK) leadership election final 30% of the votes. Neil Kinnock became leader of the Labour Party in 1983 following the resignation of Michael Foot. The party had been moving towards the left, something that Kinnock sought to change. At the 1987 general election, Kinnock was placed front and centre of the Labour campaign, leading to claims that it was almost presidential. Margaret Thatcher's Conservative Party, seven points ahead in the polls, won the election despite a 1.2% swing to Labour. Rumours were spreading early in 1988 that Tony Benn was planning a leadership challenge against Kinnock. The 63-year-old Benn had lost his seat
History of the Labour Party (Ireland) 1916, and was succeeded as leader by Thomas Johnson. The party stood aside from the elections of 1918 and 1921, but despite divisions over acceptance of the Anglo-Irish Treaty it took approximately 20% of the vote in the 1922 elections, initially forming the main opposition party in the Dáil Éireann (parliament) of the Irish Free State. The subsequent years were marked by rivalry between factions led by William X. O'Brien and James Larkin, with William Norton becoming leader. Between 1932 and 1938 the Labour Party supported Éamon de Valera's minority Fianna Fáil government. From 1948–1951 and from 1954–1957 the Labour