Short Shrift

Whilst at university in the nineties, when John Major's Tories were in power, and I was Anglia Labour Students chairman, I had a lot of admiration for Clare Short. I always thought that Clare was a good fiery speaker and was passionate about her politics. An ideal opposition MP, able to say what she was against, without having to say what she would do in power. A rent-a-gob politician who came across well on television due to her enthuiasm.

My view of her was to drasticly change during Labour's time in government.

Tony Blair, once in power gave her the job of International Development Secretary for several reasons, collective responsibility would help her put a sock in it, and the left would see her appointment as a sweetener, one of their own at the cabinet table. My high regard for Tony Blair is on record, but even his biggest detractors would agree that he is no fool. Tony would have realised that Clare had the potential to cause trouble, so he handed her something which she was interested in, and could be passionate about, Poverty In The Third World. It was not one of the "high risk" posts which could cause his government damage, if Clare went off the rails whilst at the helm.

The Iraq War then arrived, and the angry firebrand Clare of old, soon did emerge. No TV station was safe as she prowled around the corridors, threatening to resign to any journalist who would listen. However, when the bombing commenced, she stayed put in her job despite her bluster. I have no problem with Ministers resigning on matters of principle, it is the honourable thing to do. The late Robin Cook won much respect when he resigned from the government straight after Tony Blair announced we would be going to war.

Clare Short, who clearly loved the trappings of ministerial power more than most, vainly responded to the ridicule of herself in the papers by belatedly resigning. After further derision, the MP for Birmingham Ladywood then devoted herself to her constituency work.....

Dream On!

Ever since going, Short has spent every waking moment attacking her own government and rebelling on every matter from terrorism to health and education policy. The venom of her attacks on Tony Blair have bordered on the personal, despite the fact that he was the PM who had championed her, by promoting her into his cabinet.

Clare then become a born again Brown-ite, cosying up to the Chancellor and his circle, had she one eye on the ministerial limo rolling up her drive again. Of course, this also ended in acrimony, when Gordon announced that he would have to replace Trident on his watch. Everybody who does not live in a socialist utopia realises he would have to do this, to keep Britain safe and her defences up to date in the post 9/11 world. This falling out, then gave Clare another excuse to do her usual frenzied tour of the media.

Short's announcement yesterday, that she will leave the Commons at the next election, and then campaign for a hung parliament is the final straw. It shows that this deluded and bitter old woman has finally lost it. Surely, she had seen the political carnage of last week? Of course she had. By jumping on the band wagon of Labour bashing, she has shown that the only thing Clare Short cares about now, is Clare Short.

This blatant disregard for the movement in general has to be punished. The hundreds of ordinary Labour Party activists who go doorstep to doorstep in the Midlands, must be horrified at the way, their own MP has betrayed them in such uncertain times for the movement.

In recent years, Clare has done much to destroy this government and we cannot let her get away with it a moment longer. Labour must move fast to boot her out of the party, and the whips must show short shrift, expelling her from the commons.

I welcome her forthcoming twenty volumed autobiography "The EGO has Landed", with about as much joy, as I would a David Cameron led government.