Join us for this special event with Neil Kinnock, who has been a political activist for over 60 years. In this talk, he will reflect on experiences over those decades and on the need to ensure that digital communication serves democracy. This will be followed by an audience Q&A and a drinks reception in the foyer.

This is the annual George Lansbury Memorial Trust event, hosted in partnership with LSE Library and LSE Department of Government. The Trust was set up to commemorate the life and legacy of Labour MP George Lansbury (1859 - 1940), a pioneering campaigner for peace, women's rights, local democracy and improvements in labour conditions. LSE Library holds the papers of George Lansbury; some of which have been digitised and are available to view online.

Speaker biography

Neil Kinnock is from Tredegar in South Wales. His father was a coal miner and, after being industrially disabled, a steelworker and his mother was a District Nurse. He graduated in Industrial Relations and History from University College, Cardiff, and was a Tutor/ Organiser for the Workers Educational Association until his election to Parliament in 1970 as a 28 year old. He was elected to the National Executive Committee of the Labour Party in 1978 and appointed as Shadow Education Secretary in 1979. In 1983 he was elected as Leader of the Labour Party and held that position until the General Election defeat of 1992, having made modernising changes in the policies, rules, organisation and financial viability of the Party.

In 1995 he was appointed to the European Commission by the Conservative Government and took the Transport and European Networks portfolio. Promoted to be Vice President after being re-appointed in 1999, he served as Commissioner for Languages, Logistics, Internal Audit and Reform until his retirement in 2004. In 2005 he was appointed to the House of Lords and as Chairman of the British Council. To prevent claims of conflict of interest, he resigned from that position in 2009 when his wife became Minister of State in the Foreign Office. He was President (Chancellor) of the University of Cardiff from 1998 to 2011.

LSE chair

Paul Kelly is Professor of Political Theory at LSE, a former Pro-Director of the School and former Head of Department of the Department of Government. He is the author and editor of sixteen books and edited collections and published numerous scholarly articles. His interests range across political theory and philosophy and the history of thought. He has edited and co-edited the Journals Utilitas and Political Studies and cofounded Political Studies Review. His most recent books are Political Thinkers (with David Boucher) Oxford 2017, Conflict, War and Revolution, (LSE Press 2021) and he is currently working on a book entitled Against Post Liberalism (Polity Press).

The British Library of Political Economic Science (@LSELibrary) was founded in 1896, a year after the London School of Economics and Political Science. It has been based in the Lionel Robbins Building since 1978 and houses many world class collections, including the Women's Library and Hall-Carpenter Archives.