The Sheffield Rally was a political convention held by the Labour Party on Wednesday 1st April 1992, a week ahead of the 1992 UK general election. The Labour Party has been, since its founding in the early 20th century, the main democratic socialist [1] political party in the United Kingdom. ... (Redirected from 1st April) April 1 is the 91st day of the year (92nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 274 days remaining. ... 1992 (MCMXCII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday. ... The UK general election, 1992 was held on April 9, 1992, and was the fourth victory in a row for the Conservatives. ...

The event was held at the Sheffield Arena, an indoor sports venue in Sheffield, England. It was attended by 10,000 Labour Party members, including the entire shadow cabinet, and is reported to have cost some £100,000 to stage. The party leader, Neil Kinnock, was even flown into the city by helicopter. The arena in ice hockey mode The Hallam FM Arena, originally named the Sheffield Arena, is an arena hosting concerts and sporting events in Sheffield in England. ... For other uses, see Sheffield (disambiguation). ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English (de facto) Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD 927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq... The Shadow Cabinet (also called the Shadow Front Bench) is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster system of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition (or the leader of other smaller opposition parties) form an alternative cabinet to the governments, whose... Rt. ... Mil (Russian Federation) Mi-8, one of the most common model of military helicopter in the world with more than 12 thousand units built, sixfold quantity comparing to production of the second most common model UH-1 Iroquois. ...

The rally was modelled partly on United States presidential campaign conventions, partly on the German political rallies of the 1930s ^[1], with sound and light performances on the stage and celebrity endorsements played on a large video screen. It is believed to have been the brainchild of Philip Gould: a political strategist who was also involved in the election campaigns of Bill Clinton. Philip Gould, Baron Gould of Brookwood is a British political adviser closely linked with theLabour Party andTony Blair. ... William Jefferson Bill Clinton (born William Jefferson Blythe III on August 19, 1946) was the 42nd President of the United States, serving from 1993 to 2001. ...

The event was seen as a success by many of those present, but was not so well received outside the venue.

At one point in the proceedings, Kinnock and the shadow cabinet paraded to the stage from the back of the venue, passing through an increasingly enthusiastic audience. News bulletins concentrated on this section of the rally, with the shadow cabinet being introduced as "The next Home Secretary", "The next Prime Minister" etc, and culminating in an emotional Kinnock taking the podium and shouting "Well alright! Well alright!", followed by "We'd better get some talking done here, serious talking" in a quaking yell, with flailing arms.

Ahead of the event, Labour was polling a decisive lead over the Conservative Party, but this was dramatically reduced the following day, with Gallup even placing the Conservatives ahead of Labour. This fall in the opinion polls was largely blamed on the rally, which many considered brash, over-American, triumphalist and self-congratulatory, and Kinnock's performance was widely seen as un-Prime Ministerial. In the end the election was a victory for the Conservatives. The Conservative Party (officially the Conservative & Unionist Party) is currently the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament (MPs), and the largest in terms of public membership. ... See: Gallup poll (opinion poll) Gallup, New Mexico ... Opinion polls are surveys of opinion using sampling. ...

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