Clare Short resigns from Labour party

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Resignation: Clare Short

Former Cabinet minister Clare Short has resigned as a Labour MP to become an independent for the rest of this Parliament, it was confirmed today.

Chief Whip Jacqui Smith said it was a "shame" and criticised Ms Short for announcing her decision to the media before telling party chiefs.

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• Read the full text of Clare Short's resignation letter

"Many people remember her contributions to the Labour Party and Government and it is a shame that, following my reprimand to her for advocating the defeat of her Labour colleagues at the next election and several recent warnings about her lack of attendance, she has decided to resign the Labour Whip," she said.

"It is unfortunate she decided to announce this through a leak to the media rather than to her constituency Labour Party".

Ms Smith is believed not to have formally received a resignation letter from Ms Short, despite a copy being shown by the BBC.

But the name of the Birmingham Ladywood MP has already been removed from a list of MPs on the official Labour Party website.

Ms Short escaped expulsion from the Labour Party earlier this month after calling on voters to abandon it to force a hung Parliament.

She announced she was stepping down at the next election with a vicious swipe at Tony Blair, saying she was "profoundly ashamed" of the Government.

Ms Short quit as International Development Secretary in the immediate aftermath of the Iraq war over her opposition to the invasion.

Just weeks ago, the 60-year-old faced the threat of having the Labour whip withdrawn after saying she would campaign for a hung parliament. At the time, she announced she would stand down at the next election and said she was "profoundly ashamed of the Government".

Asked whether she may stand as an independent, she said it was "improbable, but who knows?"

She is seen to have already lost much of her credibility among party members.

Unlike the late Commons leader Robin Cook, she did not resign from the Cabinet in the run-up to the Iraq war, only standing down as International Development Secretary in May 2003 after Saddam Hussein had been toppled.

At the time she launched a scathing attack on Tony Blair accusing him of being "increasingly obsessed with his place in history" and running the country in a "presidential style".

Ms Short was seen as an ally of Gordon Brown. However, she was furious when he signalled this summer that he wanted to replace the UK's Trident nuclear weapons system.

She branded the move "outrageous" and accused Mr Brown of displaying disrespect for "any kind of democratic process".

She claimed the Chancellor was acting out of "desperation", to show he was as Right-wing as Mr Blair in order to ensure he succeeded him as Labour leader and Prime Minister.

Ms Short threatened to resign before the Iraq war after clashing with Mr Blair and branding him "reckless".

But she stayed on arguing that it would have been "copping out" to quit the Cabinet when she could play a role in rebuilding Iraq.

Her decision was widely seen to have damaged her standing among anti-war campaigners.

Ms Short already had a reputation as a "serial" resigner having quit the Labour frontbenches over the first Iraq war and prevention of terrorism laws. She is also seen as temperamental and may still be talked out of quitting as a Labour MP.

The second of seven children of Irish parents, she became MP for Birmingham Ladywood in 1983 and has campaigned against The Sun's Page Three girls.

She also surprised colleagues at Westminster by revealing she had a secret son, Toby, 31 years after she gave him up for adoption.

 

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