Editing Neil Kinnock (section)

==Post-parliamentary career==
Kinnock announced his resignation as Leader of the Labour Party on 13 April 1992, ending nearly a decade in the role. [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]], previously Shadow Chancellor, [[1992 Labour Party leadership election|was elected]] on 18 July as his successor.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/13/newsid_2830000/2830895.stm | work=BBC News | title=1992: Labour's Neil Kinnock resigns | date=13 April 1992 | access-date=10 September 2010 | archive-date=7 March 2008 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080307130725/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/april/13/newsid_2830000/2830895.stm | url-status=live }}</ref>

Kinnock remained on the Advisory Council of the [[Institute for Public Policy Research]], which he helped set up in the 1980s.

Kinnock was an enthusiastic supporter of [[Ed Miliband]]'s campaign for the Leadership of the Labour Party in 2010, and was reported as telling activists, when Miliband won, "We've got our party back" – although Miliband, like Kinnock, failed to lead the party back into government, and resigned after the Conservatives were re-elected with a small majority in [[2015 United Kingdom general election|2015]]. Labour received their lowest seat tally under Miliband since the 1987 general election; when Kinnock was leader at that time.<ref>{{cite news | first = Brian | last = Wheeler | title = "We've got our party back," says Lord Kinnock | date = 29 September 2010 | url = https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11434981 | work = BBC News | access-date = 29 September 2010 | archive-date = 30 September 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100930041359/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-11434981 | url-status = live }}</ref>

In 2011, he participated in the Welsh family history television programme ''[[Coming Home (British TV series)|Coming Home]]'' where he discovered hitherto unknown information about his family.<ref name="cominghome">{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017j1l1|access-date=8 January 2014|title=BBC One – Coming Home, Series 6, Neil Kinnock|archive-date=9 February 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120209013523/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b017j1l1|url-status=live}}</ref>

===European Union Commissioner===
{{See also|Santer Commission|Prodi Commission}}
[[File:Neil Kinnock and Tony Blair 1.jpg|thumb|right|Kinnock with [[Tony Blair]] in 2000]]
Kinnock was appointed one of the UK's two members of the [[European Commission]], which he served first as Transport Commissioner under President [[Jacques Santer]], in early 1995; marking the end of his 25 years in the House of Commons.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/conservatives-trounced-in-poll-1573413.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220618/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/conservatives-trounced-in-poll-1573413.html |archive-date=18 June 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live | location=London | work=The Independent | title=Conservatives trounced in poll | date=17 February 1995}}</ref> This came less than a year after the death of his successor, [[John Smith (Labour Party leader)|John Smith]] and the election of [[Tony Blair]] as the party's new leader.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/21/newsid_2515000/2515825.stm | work=BBC News | title=1994: Labour chooses Blair | date=21 July 1994 | access-date=12 April 2011 | archive-date=4 December 2017 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171204140526/http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/july/21/newsid_2515000/2515825.stm | url-status=live }}</ref>

He was obliged to resign as part of the forced, collective [[Santer Commission#Resignation|resignation of the Commission]] in 1999. He was re-appointed to the Commission under new President [[Romano Prodi]]. He now became one of the Vice-Presidents of the European Commission, with responsibility for Administrative Reform and the Audit, Linguistics and Logistics Directorates General.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ippr.org/staff-profiles/58/637/neil-kinnock |title=Neil Kinnock > Policy Advisory Council |publisher=IPPR |access-date=25 September 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130927045158/http://www.ippr.org/staff-profiles/58/637/neil-kinnock |archive-date=27 September 2013 }}</ref> His term of office as a Commissioner was due to expire on 30 October 2004, but was delayed owing to the withdrawal of the new Commissioners. During this second term of office on the Commission, he was responsible for introducing new staff regulations for EU officials, a  feature of which was substantial salary cuts for everyone employed after 1 May 2004, reduced pension prospects for a number of others, and worsening employment conditions. This made him disliked by a number of EU staff members, although the pressure on budgets that largely drove these changes had actually been imposed on the Commission from above by the Member States in Council.

In February 2004, it was announced that with effect from 1 November 2004, Kinnock would become head of the [[British Council]]. Coincidentally, at the same time, his son [[Stephen Kinnock|Stephen]] became head of the British Council branch in [[Saint Petersburg]], Russia. At the end of October, it was announced that he would become a Member of the [[House of Lords]] (intending to be a working peer), when he was able to leave his EU responsibilities. In 1977, he had remained in the House of Commons, with [[Dennis Skinner]], while other MPs walked to the Lords to hear the [[Queen's speech]] opening the new parliament. He had dismissed going to the Lords in recent interviews. Kinnock explained his change of attitude, despite the continuing presence of ninety hereditary peers and appointment by patronage, by asserting that the Lords was a good base for campaigning.

===Life peerage===
[[File:Kinnock, Neil.jpg|thumb|upright|Kinnock in 2007]]
On 28 January 2005, he was created a [[life peer]] as ''Baron Kinnock, of [[Bedwellty]] in the County of [[Gwent (county)|Gwent]]'',<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=57549 |date=2 February 2005 |page=1249}}</ref> and was [[Introduction (House of Lords)|introduced]] to the [[House of Lords]] on 31 January 2005.<ref>[https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200405/ldjournal/238/031.htm House of Lords Journal 238 (Session 2004–05)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161026021456/http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/ld200405/ldjournal/238/031.htm |date=26 October 2016 }}, Monday, 31 January 2005; p. 142</ref> On assuming his seat, he stated: "I accepted the kind invitation to enter the House of Lords as a working peer for practical political reasons." When his peerage was first announced, he said: "It will give me the opportunity ... to contribute to the national debate on issues like [[higher education]], research, Europe and foreign policy."

His peerage meant that the Labour and Conservative parties were equal in numbers in the upper house of Parliament (subsequently the number of Labour members overtook the number of Conservative members for multiple years). Kinnock was a long-time critic of the House of Lords, and his acceptance of a peerage led him to be accused of hypocrisy, by [[Will Self]],<ref>Notably when Kinnock appeared, as the guest presenter in an episode of ''[[Have I Got News for You]]'', on [[List of Have I Got News for You episodes#Series 28 (2004)|3 December 2004]]</ref> among others.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4223265.stm|title=Baron Kinnock makes Lords debut|work=BBC News|date=31 January 2005|access-date=29 September 2010|archive-date=26 February 2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060226052018/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4223265.stm|url-status=live}}</ref>