Editing Neil Kinnock (section)

===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.