Clare Short
Encyclopedia
Clare Short is a British politician, and a member of the Labour Party
. She was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood from 1983 to 2010; for most of this period she was a Labour Party
MP, but she resigned the party whip in 2006 and served the remainder of her term as an Independent
. She stood down as a Member of Parliament at the 2010 general election. Short was Secretary of State for International Development
in the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair
from 3 May 1997 until her resignation from that post on 12 May 2003.
, England in 1946 to Irish Catholic
parents from County Armagh
, Northern Ireland.
She would later be supportive of peaceful Sinn Féin
initiatives, although she was never a supporter of IRA
violence, some of the worst of which was inflicted in a 1974 bombing
of her home city of Birmingham.
Short was briefly married to a fellow student at 18 after she had a child at 17. Their son was given up for adoption
, and did not make contact with his birth mother until 1996. She discovered that her son was a staunch Conservative
who worked in the financial sector in the City of London
, and that she was a grandmother of Toby's three children, Sophie, Alice and Emily and had a daughter in law, Annie. Her second marriage, to former Labour minister Alex Lyon
, turned to tragedy: he suffered from Alzheimer's disease
and died in 1993. Short is a cousin of Canadian actor/comic Martin Short
(their fathers were brothers). Her uncle, Patrick Short, was known as the proprietor of Shorts Bar in South Armagh
.
With a degree in political science
from the University of Leeds
, she became a civil servant in the Home Office
. Working as Private Secretary to the Conservative minister Mark Carlisle
gave her the idea that she "could do better" than many of the MPs she dealt with, and in the 1983 UK general election
she became MP for Ladywood, Birmingham, the area where she grew up.
of the party. She gained some notoriety shortly after her election in 1983 when she implied the government's Employment minister Alan Clark
was drunk at the despatch box
. Clark's colleagues on the government benches in turn accused Short of using un-Parliamentary language and the Deputy Speaker
, Ernest Armstrong
, asked her to withdraw her accusation. Clark later admitted in his diaries that Short had been correct in her assessment.
In 1986 she gained attention for campaigning against "Page Three
" photographs of topless models in The Sun
and other British tabloid
newspapers. For this she was nicknamed by The Sun "killjoy Clare." One paper bought and published alleged photographs of Short in her nightwear from her first husband, however, she stated those were pictures of somebody else's body with her face superimposed.
She supported John Prescott
in the Labour deputy-leadership election in 1988 (against Eric Heffer
and the incumbent Roy Hattersley
), leaving the Socialist Campaign Group
, along with Margaret Beckett
, as a result of Tony Benn's
decision to challenge Neil Kinnock
for the leadership. She supported Margaret Beckett for the Labour leadership in 1994 against Tony Blair
and John Prescott. She also called for the withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland
.
She rose through the ranks of the Labour Front Bench, despite twice resigning from it – over the Prevention of Terrorism Act
in 1988, and over the Gulf War
in 1990. She became Shadow Minister for Women, and then Shadow Transport Secretary. At the 1995 Labour conference, Short denounced Liz Davies
as "unsuitable" after Davies had been selected as a Parliamentary candidate by a constituency Labour Party in Leeds North-East. This was seen as an attempt to win the favour of the right wing of the party, especially Tony Blair
. However, in 1996, Short was moved to the Overseas Development portfolio, a move which she saw as a demotion. Short has also called for the legalisation of cannabis.
the Overseas Development Administration was given full departmental status as the Department for International Development
, with Short as the first cabinet-level
Secretary of State for International Development. She retained this post throughout the first term of the Labour government, and beyond the 2001 UK general election
into the second.
On her appointment to the DfID, journalists asked Short whether she would be "good" (in other words, not cause embarrassment to the government). She replied "I'm going to try to be good but I can't help it, I have to be me". A few months later, the island of Montserrat
(one of the United Kingdom's few remaining overseas territories) was devastated by a volcano
eruption which rendered half the island uninhabitable; when the 4,500 islanders asked for more help from the DfID, Short was reported to have remarked "they will be asking for golden elephants next", and refused to visit the island. This remark caused great offence to the Montserratians and others; Labour MP Bernie Grant
said that "She sounds like a mouthpiece for an old 19th century colonial and Conservative government".
, in which she stated that "we do not accept that Britain has a special responsibility to meet the costs of land purchase in Zimbabwe". She went on to write "We are a new government from diverse backgrounds, without links to former colonial interests. My own origins are Irish and, as you know, we were colonised, not colonisers." In the same letter she did, however, offer qualified support for land reform: "We do recognise the very real issues you face over land reform... we would be prepared to support a programme of land reform that was part of a poverty eradication strategy, but not on any other basis". This letter caused a rift with the Zimbabwean government, which asserted that the Lancaster House Agreement
of 1979 had contained a continuing pledge from the United Kingdom government to assist in land reform
.
In 2001, she wrote that the "ready availability of small arms has a direct and negative impact upon levels of crime and conflict in developing countries. We (the DFID) are supporting various peace building and disarmament initiatives". The following year she claimed that Britain was "committed to combating small arms availability and misuse".
"reckless" in a BBC radio interview and threatened to resign from the Cabinet in the event of the British government going to war with Iraq
without a clear mandate from the United Nations. This looked set to be a reprise of her previous resignation as party spokesperson during the Gulf War
of 1991 as a protest against the Labour Party's stance, although in 1999 she had publicly supported the NATO attack on Serbia. However, on 18 March she announced that she would remain in the Cabinet and support the government's resolution in the House of Commons.
Short remained in the Cabinet for two months after her decision to back the 2003 Iraq War. She resigned on 12 May.
Today radio programme that British spies
regularly intercept UN communications, including those of Kofi Annan
, then Secretary-General. The claim was made the day after the unexplained dropping of whistleblowing
charges against former GCHQ translator Katharine Gun
. Reacting to Short's statement, Tony Blair
said "I really do regard what Clare Short has said this morning as totally irresponsible, and entirely consistent [with Short's character]." Blair also claimed that Short had put British security, particularly the security of its spies, at risk. The same day, on the BBC's Newsnight
programme, Short called Blair's response "pompous" and said that Britain had no need to spy on Kofi Annan
. Blair did not explicitly deny the claims but Robin Cook
, former Foreign Secretary, wrote that in his experience he would be surprised if the claims were true.
A few days later (on 29 February 2004) Short appeared on ITV
's Jonathan Dimbleby
programme. She revealed that she had been written to by Britain's senior civil servant, Cabinet Secretary
Andrew Turnbull
. Turnbull's confidential letter (which Short showed to Dimbleby, and which was quoted on the programme) formally admonished her for discussing intelligence matters in the media, and threatened "further action" if she did not desist from giving interviews on the issue. Turnbull wrote that she had made claims "which damage the interests of the United Kingdom", and that he was "extremely disappointed". The "further action" referred to in the letter has been interpreted as threatening either the removal of Short's status as a Privy Counsellor
or to legal action under the Official Secrets Act. Either course of action would be without recent precedent; the last time a Privy Counsellor's status was revoked was in 1921 when Sir Edgar Speyer
was accused of collaborating with the Germans during the First World War. However, on 1 March 2004, Tony Blair's official spokesman refused to rule out such a step.
However in the same interview on the Jonathan Dimbleby
programme, Short backtracked on her claim about British agents bugging Annan. She admitted that the transcripts she saw of Annan's private conversations might have related to Africa and not to Iraq.
Asked whether she could confirm that the transcripts related to Iraq, she said: "I can't, but there might well have been ... I cannot remember a specific transcript in relation, it doesn't mean it wasn't there." Short also admitted that her original claim, on the Today programme, that Britain had eavesdropped on Annan may have been inaccurate. Asked whether the material could have passed to the British by the Americans, she said: "It could. But it normally indicates that. But I can't remember that."
Clare Short's book, An Honourable Deception?: New Labour, Iraq, and the Misuse of Power, was released on 1 November 2004. It is an account of her career in New Labour, most notably her relationship with Tony Blair, the relationship between Blair and Gordon Brown
and the build up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
.
In December 2004, Short was reportedly critical of U.S. efforts to dispense aid to countries devastated by a tsunami caused by a massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean. She was quoted as stating that the formation of a group of countries led by the United States for this purpose was a challenge to the role of the United Nations, which she believed was uniquely qualified for the task.
, which she hoped would be achieved through a hung parliament
. The Labour Party Chief Whip
referred the matter to the Labour Party National Executive Committee to consider disciplinary action. On Friday 20 October, Short resigned the Labour whip and announced that she would sit as an Independent Labour MP. Short received a written reprimand from Labour's Chief Whip
shortly before the news of her resignation of the party whip was announced.
After Gordon Brown
succeeded Tony Blair as Prime Minister, Short said that the change offered "a new beginning", and hinted that she might re-join the parliamentary Labour party if Brown changed the policies that had caused her to leave.
into Iraq. During this she repeatedly criticised Tony Blair, Attorney General Peter Goldsmith and others in the UK Government for allegedly deceiving her and other MPs in an attempt to obtain consent for the invasion of Iraq.
, Short accepted £1,580 in donations worth of flights, hotel accommodation, food and travel expenses from al-Manar
television in Lebanon
in 2008.http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/mar/25/mps-middle-east-regimes-hospitality
Short has condemned Israel
as being guilty of "bloody, brutal and systematic annexation of land, destruction of homes and the deliberate creation of an apartheid system." She has also stated that "the EU and Britain are colluding in this operation and the building of a new apartheid regime" because they give Israel privileged trade access.
Short has expressed support for a boycott of Israel, stating at a 2007 UN conference that "The boycott worked for South Africa, it is time to do it again". She also stated that Israel is actually "much worse than the original apartheid state".
Regarding the 2006 war between Israel
and Hezbollah, Short stated that "Israel is out of control and our Government and the US is giving them a green light to continue" and that "Britain clearly now just backs President (George W.) Bush in whatever he does, in automatically backing Israel in breaching international law, in disproportionate attacks on Lebanon and attacks on Gaza.".
2008 Series on entitled "Apocalypse Now – Global Equity and Sustainable Living, the Preconditions for Human Survival." The lecture took place at York Minster
and Short was introduced by the Dean of York
, the Very Revd. Keith Jones
.
In her lecture, Short emphasised the need for the end of our current 'throw away' society. She considered the changing conception of the world since the 1960s and emphasised the need for us to consider the consequences of today's environmental concerns for the generations of the future. Short also introduced the subject of Transition Towns
, speaking about the first of such towns in Totnes
, Devon, UK. These towns aim to create a "community" for the future which "addresses the twin challenges of diminishing oil and gas supplies and climate change, and creates the kind of community that we would all want to be part of." Short was particularly excited about the prospect of a Transition Town movement in Birmingham
where her constituency is located.
published details of MPs' expenses in 2009, Short confirmed that in 2003 she had been overpaid £8,000 on her mortgage. She repaid it in 2006.
in recognition of her services to international development.
|-
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
. She was the Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood from 1983 to 2010; for most of this period she was a Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
MP, but she resigned the party whip in 2006 and served the remainder of her term as an Independent
Independent (politician)
In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do...
. She stood down as a Member of Parliament at the 2010 general election. Short was Secretary of State for International Development
Secretary of State for International Development
In the United Kingdom, the Secretary of State for International Development is a Cabinet minister responsible for the Department for International Development and for promoting development overseas, particularly in the third world...
in the government of Prime Minister Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
from 3 May 1997 until her resignation from that post on 12 May 2003.
Early life
Clare Short was born in BirminghamBirmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
, England in 1946 to Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic
Irish Catholic is a term used to describe people who are both Roman Catholic and Irish .Note: the term is not used to describe a variant of Catholicism. More particularly, it is not a separate creed or sect in the sense that "Anglo-Catholic", "Old Catholic", "Eastern Orthodox Catholic" might be...
parents from County Armagh
County Armagh
-History:Ancient Armagh was the territory of the Ulaid before the fourth century AD. It was ruled by the Red Branch, whose capital was Emain Macha near Armagh. The site, and subsequently the city, were named after the goddess Macha...
, Northern Ireland.
She would later be supportive of peaceful Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin is a left wing, Irish republican political party in Ireland. The name is Irish for "ourselves" or "we ourselves", although it is frequently mistranslated as "ourselves alone". Originating in the Sinn Féin organisation founded in 1905 by Arthur Griffith, it took its current form in 1970...
initiatives, although she was never a supporter of IRA
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Provisional Irish Republican Army is an Irish republican paramilitary organisation whose aim was to remove Northern Ireland from the United Kingdom and bring about a socialist republic within a united Ireland by force of arms and political persuasion...
violence, some of the worst of which was inflicted in a 1974 bombing
Birmingham pub bombings
The Birmingham pub bombings occurred on 21 November 1974 in Birmingham, England. The explosions killed 21 people and injured 182. The devices were placed in two central Birmingham pubs – the Mulberry Bush and the Tavern in the Town . Although warnings were sent, the pubs were not evacuated in time...
of her home city of Birmingham.
Short was briefly married to a fellow student at 18 after she had a child at 17. Their son was given up for adoption
Adoption
Adoption is a process whereby a person assumes the parenting for another and, in so doing, permanently transfers all rights and responsibilities from the original parent or parents...
, and did not make contact with his birth mother until 1996. She discovered that her son was a staunch Conservative
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
who worked in the financial sector in the City of London
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
, and that she was a grandmother of Toby's three children, Sophie, Alice and Emily and had a daughter in law, Annie. Her second marriage, to former Labour minister Alex Lyon
Alex Lyon
Alexander Ward Lyon was a British Labour politician.- Early life :Lyon was educated at West Leeds High School and University College, London. He became a barrister, called to the Bar at Inner Temple in 1954. He was a member of the Bar Council and of the Fabian Society...
, turned to tragedy: he suffered from Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease
Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...
and died in 1993. Short is a cousin of Canadian actor/comic Martin Short
Martin Short
Martin Hayter Short, CM is a Canadian actor, comedian, writer, singer and producer. He is best-known for his comedy work, particularly on the TV programs SCTV and Saturday Night Live...
(their fathers were brothers). Her uncle, Patrick Short, was known as the proprietor of Shorts Bar in South Armagh
South Armagh
South Armagh can refer to:*The southern part of County Armagh*South Armagh *South Armagh...
.
With a degree in political science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
from the University of Leeds
University of Leeds
The University of Leeds is a British Redbrick university located in the city of Leeds, West Yorkshire, England...
, she became a civil servant in the Home Office
Home Office
The Home Office is the United Kingdom government department responsible for immigration control, security, and order. As such it is responsible for the police, UK Border Agency, and the Security Service . It is also in charge of government policy on security-related issues such as drugs,...
. Working as Private Secretary to the Conservative minister Mark Carlisle
Mark Carlisle
Mark Carlisle, Baron Carlisle of Bucklow QC DL PC was a Conservative British politician and was Member of Parliament for Runcorn 1964-1983 and Warrington South 1983-1987...
gave her the idea that she "could do better" than many of the MPs she dealt with, and in the 1983 UK general election
United Kingdom general election, 1983
The 1983 United Kingdom general election was held on 9 June 1983. It gave the Conservative Party under Margaret Thatcher the most decisive election victory since that of Labour in 1945...
she became MP for Ladywood, Birmingham, the area where she grew up.
Member of Parliament
At the start of her career she was firmly on the left wingLeft-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
of the party. She gained some notoriety shortly after her election in 1983 when she implied the government's Employment minister Alan Clark
Alan Clark
Alan Kenneth Mackenzie Clark was a British Conservative MP and diarist. He served as a junior minister in Margaret Thatcher's governments at the Departments of Employment, Trade, and Defence, and became a privy counsellor in 1991...
was drunk at the despatch box
Despatch box
A despatch box is a wooden box used as a lectern from which frontbench members of Parliament deliver speeches to their parliamentary chamber....
. Clark's colleagues on the government benches in turn accused Short of using un-Parliamentary language and the Deputy Speaker
Speaker of the British House of Commons
The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament. The current Speaker is John Bercow, who was elected on 22 June 2009, following the resignation of Michael Martin...
, Ernest Armstrong
Ernest Armstrong
Ernest Armstrong was a British Labour Party politician.Armstrong was educated at Wolsingham Grammar School and City of Leeds Teacher Training College, and ultimately became a headmaster...
, asked her to withdraw her accusation. Clark later admitted in his diaries that Short had been correct in her assessment.
In 1986 she gained attention for campaigning against "Page Three
Page Three girl
Page Three is a tabloid newspaper feature consisting of a topless photograph of a female glamour model, usually printed on the paper's third page...
" photographs of topless models in The Sun
The Sun (newspaper)
The Sun is a daily national tabloid newspaper published in the United Kingdom and owned by News Corporation. Sister editions are published in Glasgow and Dublin...
and other British tabloid
Tabloid journalism
Tabloid journalism tends to emphasize topics such as sensational crime stories, astrology, gossip columns about the personal lives of celebrities and sports stars, and junk food news...
newspapers. For this she was nicknamed by The Sun "killjoy Clare." One paper bought and published alleged photographs of Short in her nightwear from her first husband, however, she stated those were pictures of somebody else's body with her face superimposed.
She supported John Prescott
John Prescott
John Leslie Prescott, Baron Prescott is a British politician who was Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1997 to 2007. Born in Prestatyn, Wales, he represented Hull East as the Labour Member of Parliament from 1970 to 2010...
in the Labour deputy-leadership election in 1988 (against Eric Heffer
Eric Heffer
Eric Samuel Heffer was a British socialist politician. He was Labour Member of Parliament for Liverpool Walton from 1964 until his death. His working-class background and consciousness fed in to his left-wing politics, but to an extent disguised the depth of his knowledge: with 12,000 books in...
and the incumbent Roy Hattersley
Roy Hattersley
Roy Sydney George Hattersley, Baron Hattersley is a British Labour politician, author and journalist from Sheffield. He served as Deputy Leader of the Labour Party from 1983 to 1992.-Early life:...
), leaving the Socialist Campaign Group
Socialist Campaign Group
The Socialist Campaign Group is a left-wing democratic socialist grouping of Labour Party Members of Parliament in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. It was formed in December 1982 as an alternative Parliamentary left-wing group to the Tribune Group...
, along with Margaret Beckett
Margaret Beckett
Margaret Mary Beckett is a British Labour Party politician who has been the Member of Parliament for Derby South since 1983, rising to become the Deputy Leader of the Labour Party under John Smith, from 18 July 1992 to 12 May 1994, and briefly serving as Leader of the Party following Smith's death...
, as a result of Tony Benn's
Tony Benn
Anthony Neil Wedgwood "Tony" Benn, PC is a British Labour Party politician and a former MP and Cabinet Minister.His successful campaign to renounce his hereditary peerage was instrumental in the creation of the Peerage Act 1963...
decision to challenge Neil Kinnock
Neil Kinnock
Neil Gordon Kinnock, Baron Kinnock is a Welsh politician belonging to the Labour Party. He served as a Member of Parliament from 1970 until 1995 and as Labour Leader and Leader of Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition from 1983 until 1992 - his leadership of the party during nearly nine years making him...
for the leadership. She supported Margaret Beckett for the Labour leadership in 1994 against Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
and John Prescott. She also called for the withdrawal of British troops from Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
.
She rose through the ranks of the Labour Front Bench, despite twice resigning from it – over the Prevention of Terrorism Act
Prevention of Terrorism Act (Northern Ireland)
The Prevention of Terrorism Acts were a series of Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom from 1974 to 1989 that conferred emergency powers upon police forces where they suspected terrorism....
in 1988, and over the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
in 1990. She became Shadow Minister for Women, and then Shadow Transport Secretary. At the 1995 Labour conference, Short denounced Liz Davies
Liz Davies
Liz Davies is a British barrister and political activist. She is the daughter of retired Oxford academic and historian of Tudor England, C. S. L. Davies....
as "unsuitable" after Davies had been selected as a Parliamentary candidate by a constituency Labour Party in Leeds North-East. This was seen as an attempt to win the favour of the right wing of the party, especially Tony Blair
Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
. However, in 1996, Short was moved to the Overseas Development portfolio, a move which she saw as a demotion. Short has also called for the legalisation of cannabis.
Secretary of State for International Development
After the 1997 UK general electionUnited Kingdom general election, 1997
The United Kingdom general election, 1997 was held on 1 May 1997, more than five years after the previous election on 9 April 1992, to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. The Labour Party ended its 18 years in opposition under the leadership of Tony Blair, and won the general...
the Overseas Development Administration was given full departmental status as the Department for International Development
Department for International Development
The Department For International Development is a United Kingdom government department with a Cabinet Minister in charge. It was separated from the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in 1997. The goal of the department is "to promote sustainable development and eliminate world poverty". The current...
, with Short as the first cabinet-level
Cabinet of the United Kingdom
The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and some 22 Cabinet Ministers, the most senior of the government ministers....
Secretary of State for International Development. She retained this post throughout the first term of the Labour government, and beyond the 2001 UK general election
United Kingdom general election, 2001
The United Kingdom general election, 2001 was held on Thursday 7 June 2001 to elect 659 members to the British House of Commons. It was dubbed "the quiet landslide" by the media, as the Labour Party was re-elected with another landslide result and only suffered a net loss of 6 seats...
into the second.
On her appointment to the DfID, journalists asked Short whether she would be "good" (in other words, not cause embarrassment to the government). She replied "I'm going to try to be good but I can't help it, I have to be me". A few months later, the island of Montserrat
Montserrat
Montserrat is a British overseas territory located in the Leeward Islands, part of the chain of islands called the Lesser Antilles in the West Indies. This island measures approximately long and wide, giving of coastline...
(one of the United Kingdom's few remaining overseas territories) was devastated by a volcano
Volcano
2. Bedrock3. Conduit 4. Base5. Sill6. Dike7. Layers of ash emitted by the volcano8. Flank| 9. Layers of lava emitted by the volcano10. Throat11. Parasitic cone12. Lava flow13. Vent14. Crater15...
eruption which rendered half the island uninhabitable; when the 4,500 islanders asked for more help from the DfID, Short was reported to have remarked "they will be asking for golden elephants next", and refused to visit the island. This remark caused great offence to the Montserratians and others; Labour MP Bernie Grant
Bernie Grant
Bernard Alexander Montgomery Grant , known simply as Bernie Grant, was a politician in the United Kingdom, and was Labour member of Parliament for Tottenham at the time of his death....
said that "She sounds like a mouthpiece for an old 19th century colonial and Conservative government".
Land reform in Zimbabwe
On 6 November 1997 Short sent a letter to Kumbirai Kangai, Minister of Agriculture in ZimbabweZimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, in which she stated that "we do not accept that Britain has a special responsibility to meet the costs of land purchase in Zimbabwe". She went on to write "We are a new government from diverse backgrounds, without links to former colonial interests. My own origins are Irish and, as you know, we were colonised, not colonisers." In the same letter she did, however, offer qualified support for land reform: "We do recognise the very real issues you face over land reform... we would be prepared to support a programme of land reform that was part of a poverty eradication strategy, but not on any other basis". This letter caused a rift with the Zimbabwean government, which asserted that the Lancaster House Agreement
Lancaster House Agreement
The negotiations which led to the Lancaster House Agreement brought independence to Rhodesia following Ian Smith’s Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965. The Agreement covered the Independence Constitution, pre-independence arrangements, and a ceasefire...
of 1979 had contained a continuing pledge from the United Kingdom government to assist in land reform
Land reform in Zimbabwe
Land reform in Zimbabwe officially began in 1979 with the signing of the Lancaster House Agreement, an effort to more equitably distribute land between the historically disenfranchised blacks and the minority-whites who ruled Zimbabwe from 1890 to 1979...
.
Position on the arms trade
In December 1997, Short signed Britain into the Ottawa Convention, banning the production, handling and use of anti-personnel mines.In 2001, she wrote that the "ready availability of small arms has a direct and negative impact upon levels of crime and conflict in developing countries. We (the DFID) are supporting various peace building and disarmament initiatives". The following year she claimed that Britain was "committed to combating small arms availability and misuse".
Resignation
On 9 March 2003 Short repeatedly called Tony BlairTony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton Blair is a former British Labour Party politician who served as the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
"reckless" in a BBC radio interview and threatened to resign from the Cabinet in the event of the British government going to war with Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
without a clear mandate from the United Nations. This looked set to be a reprise of her previous resignation as party spokesperson during the Gulf War
Gulf War
The Persian Gulf War , commonly referred to as simply the Gulf War, was a war waged by a U.N.-authorized coalition force from 34 nations led by the United States, against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait.The war is also known under other names, such as the First Gulf...
of 1991 as a protest against the Labour Party's stance, although in 1999 she had publicly supported the NATO attack on Serbia. However, on 18 March she announced that she would remain in the Cabinet and support the government's resolution in the House of Commons.
Short remained in the Cabinet for two months after her decision to back the 2003 Iraq War. She resigned on 12 May.
Bugging of the UN
On 26 February 2004 Short alleged on the BBCBBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Today radio programme that British spies
Secret Intelligence Service
The Secret Intelligence Service is responsible for supplying the British Government with foreign intelligence. Alongside the internal Security Service , the Government Communications Headquarters and the Defence Intelligence , it operates under the formal direction of the Joint Intelligence...
regularly intercept UN communications, including those of Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
, then Secretary-General. The claim was made the day after the unexplained dropping of whistleblowing
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
charges against former GCHQ translator Katharine Gun
Katharine Gun
Katharine Teresa Gun is a former translator for Government Communications Headquarters , a British intelligence agency...
. Reacting to Short's statement, Tony Blair
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the Head of Her Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Sovereign, to Parliament, to their political party and...
said "I really do regard what Clare Short has said this morning as totally irresponsible, and entirely consistent [with Short's character]." Blair also claimed that Short had put British security, particularly the security of its spies, at risk. The same day, on the BBC's Newsnight
Newsnight
Newsnight is a BBC Television current affairs programme noted for its in-depth analysis and often robust cross-examination of senior politicians. Jeremy Paxman has been its main presenter for over two decades....
programme, Short called Blair's response "pompous" and said that Britain had no need to spy on Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
. Blair did not explicitly deny the claims but Robin Cook
Robin Cook
Robert Finlayson Cook was a British Labour Party politician, who was the Member of Parliament for Livingston from 1983 until his death, and notably served in the Cabinet as Foreign Secretary from 1997 to 2001....
, former Foreign Secretary, wrote that in his experience he would be surprised if the claims were true.
A few days later (on 29 February 2004) Short appeared on ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
's Jonathan Dimbleby
Jonathan Dimbleby
Jonathan Dimbleby is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, a political commentator and a writer. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby and younger brother of British TV presenter David Dimbleby.-Education:Dimbleby was educated at Charterhouse School, a...
programme. She revealed that she had been written to by Britain's senior civil servant, Cabinet Secretary
Cabinet Secretary
A Cabinet Secretary is almost always a senior official who provides services and advice to a Cabinet of Ministers. In many countries, the position can have considerably wider functions and powers, including general responsibility for the entire civil service...
Andrew Turnbull
Andrew Turnbull, Baron Turnbull
Andrew Turnbull, Baron Turnbull, KCB, CVO was the head of Her Majesty's Civil Service and Cabinet Secretary between 2002 and 2005 when he was succeeded by Sir Gus O'Donnell....
. Turnbull's confidential letter (which Short showed to Dimbleby, and which was quoted on the programme) formally admonished her for discussing intelligence matters in the media, and threatened "further action" if she did not desist from giving interviews on the issue. Turnbull wrote that she had made claims "which damage the interests of the United Kingdom", and that he was "extremely disappointed". The "further action" referred to in the letter has been interpreted as threatening either the removal of Short's status as a Privy Counsellor
Privy Council of the United Kingdom
Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, usually known simply as the Privy Council, is a formal body of advisers to the Sovereign in the United Kingdom...
or to legal action under the Official Secrets Act. Either course of action would be without recent precedent; the last time a Privy Counsellor's status was revoked was in 1921 when Sir Edgar Speyer
Edgar Speyer
Sir Edgar Speyer, 1st Baronet was an American-born financier and philanthropist. He became a British subject in 1892 and was chairman of Speyer Brothers, the British branch of his family's international finance house, and a partner in the German and American branches...
was accused of collaborating with the Germans during the First World War. However, on 1 March 2004, Tony Blair's official spokesman refused to rule out such a step.
However in the same interview on the Jonathan Dimbleby
Jonathan Dimbleby
Jonathan Dimbleby is a British presenter of current affairs and political radio and television programmes, a political commentator and a writer. He is the son of Richard Dimbleby and younger brother of British TV presenter David Dimbleby.-Education:Dimbleby was educated at Charterhouse School, a...
programme, Short backtracked on her claim about British agents bugging Annan. She admitted that the transcripts she saw of Annan's private conversations might have related to Africa and not to Iraq.
Asked whether she could confirm that the transcripts related to Iraq, she said: "I can't, but there might well have been ... I cannot remember a specific transcript in relation, it doesn't mean it wasn't there." Short also admitted that her original claim, on the Today programme, that Britain had eavesdropped on Annan may have been inaccurate. Asked whether the material could have passed to the British by the Americans, she said: "It could. But it normally indicates that. But I can't remember that."
Backbenches
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
and the build up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq
2003 invasion of Iraq
The 2003 invasion of Iraq , was the start of the conflict known as the Iraq War, or Operation Iraqi Freedom, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq and toppled the regime of Saddam Hussein in 21 days of major combat operations...
.
In December 2004, Short was reportedly critical of U.S. efforts to dispense aid to countries devastated by a tsunami caused by a massive earthquake in the Indian Ocean. She was quoted as stating that the formation of a group of countries led by the United States for this purpose was a challenge to the role of the United Nations, which she believed was uniquely qualified for the task.
Announced retirement
On 12 September 2006, Short announced that she would not be standing at the next general election. In a brief statement, Short said she was "ashamed" of Tony Blair's government and backed proportional representationProportional representation
Proportional representation is a concept in voting systems used to elect an assembly or council. PR means that the number of seats won by a party or group of candidates is proportionate to the number of votes received. For example, under a PR voting system if 30% of voters support a particular...
, which she hoped would be achieved through a hung parliament
Hung parliament
In a two-party parliamentary system of government, a hung parliament occurs when neither major political party has an absolute majority of seats in the parliament . It is also less commonly known as a balanced parliament or a legislature under no overall control...
. The Labour Party Chief Whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...
referred the matter to the Labour Party National Executive Committee to consider disciplinary action. On Friday 20 October, Short resigned the Labour whip and announced that she would sit as an Independent Labour MP. Short received a written reprimand from Labour's Chief Whip
Chief Whip
The Chief Whip is a political office in some legislatures assigned to an elected member whose task is to administer the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires.-The Whips Office:...
shortly before the news of her resignation of the party whip was announced.
After Gordon Brown
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown is a British Labour Party politician who was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 until 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in the Labour Government from 1997 to 2007...
succeeded Tony Blair as Prime Minister, Short said that the change offered "a new beginning", and hinted that she might re-join the parliamentary Labour party if Brown changed the policies that had caused her to leave.
Chilcot Inquiry
On 2 February 2010, Short appeared before the Chilcot InquiryChilcot Inquiry
The Iraq Inquiry, also referred to as the Chilcot Inquiry after its chairman, Sir John Chilcot, is a British public inquiry into the United Kingdom's role in the Iraq War...
into Iraq. During this she repeatedly criticised Tony Blair, Attorney General Peter Goldsmith and others in the UK Government for allegedly deceiving her and other MPs in an attempt to obtain consent for the invasion of Iraq.
Relationship with Hezbollah-affiliate al-Manar Television
According to the GuardianThe Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
, Short accepted £1,580 in donations worth of flights, hotel accommodation, food and travel expenses from al-Manar
Al-Manar
Al-Manar is a Lebanese satellite television station affiliated with Hezbollah, registered as Lebanese Media Group Company, broadcasting from Beirut, Lebanon. It has an offering a "rich menu" of high production news, commentary, and entertainment. The self-proclaimed "Station of the Resistance" ,...
television in Lebanon
Lebanon
Lebanon , officially the Republic of LebanonRepublic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies. The term Lebanese Republic, a literal translation of the official Arabic and French names that is not used in today's world. Arabic is the most common language spoken among...
in 2008.http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2011/mar/25/mps-middle-east-regimes-hospitality
Statements on Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
as being guilty of "bloody, brutal and systematic annexation of land, destruction of homes and the deliberate creation of an apartheid system." She has also stated that "the EU and Britain are colluding in this operation and the building of a new apartheid regime" because they give Israel privileged trade access.
Short has expressed support for a boycott of Israel, stating at a 2007 UN conference that "The boycott worked for South Africa, it is time to do it again". She also stated that Israel is actually "much worse than the original apartheid state".
Regarding the 2006 war between Israel
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
and Hezbollah, Short stated that "Israel is out of control and our Government and the US is giving them a green light to continue" and that "Britain clearly now just backs President (George W.) Bush in whatever he does, in automatically backing Israel in breaching international law, in disproportionate attacks on Lebanon and attacks on Gaza.".
Chair of the EITI
On 1 March 2011 she was elected as Chair of the EITI (the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) at the EITI Global Conference in Paris.Birmingham Mayor candidate
Clare Short has claimed she is interested in becoming the Mayor of Birmingham if they vote in favour of having a mayor in 2012.The Ebor Lectures – 2008 Series
On 21 May 2008, Short gave a lecture as part of the Ebor LecturesThe Ebor Lectures
The Ebor Lectures are an annual series of lectures in the United Kingdom which aim to draw together theology and public life, considering the role of faith in "public issues such as politics, economics, contemporary culture and spirituality." The first series began in 2006-2007 with the theme of...
2008 Series on entitled "Apocalypse Now – Global Equity and Sustainable Living, the Preconditions for Human Survival." The lecture took place at York Minster
York Minster
York Minster is a Gothic cathedral in York, England and is one of the largest of its kind in Northern Europe alongside Cologne Cathedral. The minster is the seat of the Archbishop of York, the second-highest office of the Church of England, and is the cathedral for the Diocese of York; it is run by...
and Short was introduced by the Dean of York
Dean of York
The Dean of York is the member of the clergy who is responsible for the running of the York Minster cathedral.-11th–12th centuries:* 1093–c.1135: Hugh* c.1138–1143: William of Sainte-Barbe...
, the Very Revd. Keith Jones
Keith Jones (clergyman)
Keith Jones is an Anglican priest. He is the current Dean of York and a former Dean of Exeter in the Church of England. He was installed in his current post in June 2004 after being the Dean of Exeter from 1996.-Early life and education:...
.
In her lecture, Short emphasised the need for the end of our current 'throw away' society. She considered the changing conception of the world since the 1960s and emphasised the need for us to consider the consequences of today's environmental concerns for the generations of the future. Short also introduced the subject of Transition Towns
Transition Towns
Transition Towns is a grassroots network of communities that are working to build resilience in response to peak oil, climate destruction, and economic instability...
, speaking about the first of such towns in Totnes
Totnes
Totnes is a market town and civil parish at the head of the estuary of the River Dart in Devon, England within the South Devon Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty...
, Devon, UK. These towns aim to create a "community" for the future which "addresses the twin challenges of diminishing oil and gas supplies and climate change, and creates the kind of community that we would all want to be part of." Short was particularly excited about the prospect of a Transition Town movement in Birmingham
Birmingham
Birmingham is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. It is the most populous British city outside the capital London, with a population of 1,036,900 , and lies at the heart of the West Midlands conurbation, the second most populous urban area in the United Kingdom with a...
where her constituency is located.
Expenses
After The Daily TelegraphThe Daily Telegraph
The Daily Telegraph is a daily morning broadsheet newspaper distributed throughout the United Kingdom and internationally. The newspaper was founded by Arthur B...
published details of MPs' expenses in 2009, Short confirmed that in 2003 she had been overpaid £8,000 on her mortgage. She repaid it in 2006.
Awards
In June 2009 Short received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of UlsterUniversity of Ulster
The University of Ulster is a multi-campus, co-educational university located in Northern Ireland. It is the largest single university in Ireland, discounting the federal National University of Ireland...
in recognition of her services to international development.
Works
- Short, Clare (2004) An Honourable Deception? New Labour, Iraq, and the Misuse of Power Free Press, ISBN 0-7432-6392-8
- Short, Clare (speech, 2001) Making Globalisation Work for the Poor: A Role for the United Nations Department for International Development, ISBN 1-86192-335-X
- Short, Clare (1999) Debt Relief for Poverty Reduction Department for International Development, ISBN 1-86192-100-4
- edited by Short, Clare, K. Tunks, D. Hutchinson (1991) Dear Clare...This Is What Women Feel About Page 3 Radius, ISBN 0-09-174915-8
Styles
- Miss Clare Short (1946–1981)
- Mrs Clare Lyon (1981–)
- Clare Short MP (1983–1997)
- The Rt. Hon. Clare Short MP (1997–2010)
- The Rt. Hon. Clare Short (2010–)
External links
- Clare Short's site
- Guardian Politics Ask Aristotle – Clare Short MP
- TheyWorkForYou.com – Clare Short MP
- Photo of Clare Short during the Handsworth Riots in 1985 – Pogus CaesarPogus CaesarPogus Caesar is a British artist, television producer and director. He was born in St Kitts, West Indies, and grew up in Birmingham, England.-History:...
, OOM Gallery - Text of Clare Short's resignation letter, October 2006 – BBCBBCThe British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
- Clare Short has written several columns for the Birmingham Post
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