An Authentic Voice: Pulling Poetry from the Speeches of Neil Kinnock
"Kinnock was one of us – he spoke like us, and had our passions and opinions. But he was also a statesman of global importance. "
Jonathan Edwards explores the impact of Welshness and language on Neil Kinnock's political career and the unlikely influence it had on Edwards' own award-winning poetry, all stemming from a childhood encounter.
In 1992, Glenys Kinnock sat in my father’s car.
1992 was the year Neil Kinnock would become Prime Minister. Everyone knew it. The polls predicted a Labour win. The Conservatives were reeling from the uproar around the Poll Tax and the replacement of Thatcher with Major. The Sun was so worried that, on election day, it printed on its front page a picture of Kinnock’s face in a light bulb, together with the headline, If Kinnock wins today will the last person to leave Britain please turn out the lights. Election day was the 9th of April. In a couple of days, a Welshman would be in Downing Street.
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