The News Agents Neil Kinnock on the speech that changed the Labour Party
Oct 10, 2025
Neil Kinnock, former leader of the UK Labour Party, revisits his game-changing 1985 conference speech that took on the Militant faction. He reveals the courage needed to confront internal extremism and reflects on the emotional weight of his words. Kinnock shares insights on party loyalty, the implications of public perception, and the necessity for reform within Labour. He also praises Keir Starmer's recent speech and emphasizes the importance of tangible achievements over populist rhetoric in politics.
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Taxis Handing Out Redundancy Notices
- Neil Kinnock recounts Liverpool Council hiring taxis to hand out redundancy notices as a dramatic militant tactic.
- He condemns using people's jobs and services as political theatre and calls it grotesque chaos.
Confront Extremism To Protect Reputation
- Kinnock argues militant tactics were damaging Labour's public reputation and electoral prospects.
- He believed confronting and expelling the ultra-left was necessary to free the party from a misrepresented image.
Night-Long Speechwriting Habit
- Kinnock says he wrote many of his conference speeches overnight with a small team and often rewrote them last minute.
- He admits to staying up all night before major speeches and preferring his own words to others'.