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 John Smith is a common personal name. It is also commonly used as a placeholder name and pseudonym, and is sometimes used in the United States and the United Kingdom as a term for an average person. It may refer to: People :''In chronological ...

always the clear favourite to win. 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.

was elected in a

landslide Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...

victory with 91% of the vote. This was the last Labour Party leadership election which used the trade union block vote; the system was reformed under Smith's leadership to a

one member, one vote In the parliamentary politics of the United Kingdom and Canada, one member, one vote (OMOV) is a method of selecting party leaders, and determining party policy, by a direct vote of the members of a political party. Traditionally, these objectives ...

system which was in place for the 1994 leadership election held two years later when Smith died suddenly of a heart attack. The contest took place simultaneously with the

1992 Labour Party deputy leadership election The 1992 Labour Party deputy leadership election followed the Labour Party's failure to win the 1992 general election and the subsequent resignation of deputy party leader Roy Hattersley. The ballot took place on 18 July 1992 at Labour Party C ...

Candidates

* Bryan Gould, Shadow Secretary of State for the Environment, Member of Parliament for

Dagenham Dagenham () is a town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham. Dagenham is centred east of Charing Cross. It was historically a rural parish in the Becontree Hundred of Essex, stretching from Hainault Forest ...

, Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, Member of Parliament for

Monklands East Monklands East was a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1983 until 1997. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post voting system. For the 1997 general electio ...

Result

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.

Notes

References

* * 1992 elections in the United Kingdom

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

John Smith (Labour Party leader) Labour Party leadership election {{UK-election-stub

Candidates

Result

See also

Notes

References