Conservative Party (UK) in the Falklands War in June that year, along with the recovering British economy, saw the Conservatives returning quickly to the top of the opinion polls and winning the 1983 general election with a landslide majority, due to a split opposition vote. Thatcher now faced, arguably, her most serious rival yet after the 1983 general election, when Michael Foot resigned as Leader of the Labour Party and was succeeded by Neil Kinnock. With a new leader at the helm, Labour were clearly determined to defeat the Conservatives at the next election and for virtually the entirety of Thatcher's second ministry
History of the Labour Party (UK) who had voted against the Conservative Whip. In April 1976 Wilson surprisingly stood down as Labour Party leader. He was replaced by James Callaghan who immediately removed a number of left-wingers (such as Barbara Castle) from the cabinet. The party in Scotland suffered the breakaway of two MPs into the Scottish Labour Party (SLP). Whilst ultimately the SLP proved no real threat to the Labour Party's strong Scottish electoral base it did show that the issue of Scottish devolution was becoming increasingly contentious, especially after the discovery of North Sea Oil. The 1970s Labour government faced enormous economic problems and