Clare Short Punishment and New constituency loses it's MP

[Harry Hayfield]

The following two stories have just broken on BBC News 24.

1) Clare Short MP (Lab, Birmingham, Ladywood) will be "informed of her dissent" by the Chief Whip after her statement before the Labour Party Conference that she would like to see a hung parliament at the next election. The Chief Whip Jacqui Smith (Lab, Redditch) said in a statement that this inferred that she would like to see some of her fellow Labour MP's defeated at the next election and this was against Labour Party rules. However, she will not have the Labour whip removed in punishment

2) John Grogan MP (Lab, Selby) has announced that he will not stand for the new Selby and Ainsty constituency at the next but might stand as the Labour candidate in another constituency (possibly York Outer) or far more interestingly "standing for a different party in the future".

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Please remove that nanny-stater Short altogether!

[Fmr President & Senator Polnut]

Ah Clare

I always think of the Dead Ringers sketch where she was shackled to a radiator in Westminster.

[afleitch]

1) Clare Short MP (Lab, Birmingham, Ladywood) will be "informed of her dissent" by the Chief Whip after her statement before the Labour Party Conference that she would like to see a hung parliament at the next election.

She's being 'Pym-ed'

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Please remove that nanny-stater Short altogether!

Just about everyone in the Party that I've spoken to wanted her to get far harsher treatment than the slap on the wrist she's just got.
I suspect that the leadership, panicked by the apparent rise of the Left in the Party (we even elected Walter Wolfgang to the NEC!), was afraid of making her a martyr.
That she has sod all credibility left on the Left is not something that seems to have occured to them. Oh well.

Re; Grogan... I've not read that he's considering running for another party; his letter to Selby CLP included the following:

"I remain as committed to the ideals and values of the Labour Party as on the day I started campaigning and am proud that a third-term Labour Government has been able to deliver so much for Selby constituency."

Btw, Grogan has been Labour's candidate in Selby since the mid '80's. He get's screwed by boundary changes; from what I remember, the area added to Selby is one of the most Tory parts of North Yorkshire. Goole should have been added instead IMO.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

From what I know of him I wouldn't think he's at all likely to switch to anyone; I can't find anything (including anything said by him) that indicates that he might, and bearing in mind the content of his letter to the Selby CLP, I can't work out where the idea that he might do so has come from.

Odd.

[Harry Hayfield]

Breaking News from Sky News:

According to Sky sources, Clare Short has resigned the Labour whip and sit as the Independent Labour MP for Birmingham, Ladywood until the next election when she intends to stand down

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Breaking News from Sky News:

According to Sky sources, Clare Short has resigned the Labour whip and sit as the Independent Labour MP for Birmingham, Ladywood until the next election when she intends to stand down

Pathetic

[merseysider]

THANK GOD we've got rid of Clare Short. For the past three or four years she's been like the Labour Party's mad old granny in the attic.

Best bit of political news I've heard in ages. Hopefully the likes of Peter Kilfoyle, Glenda Jackson and various other trots and embittered ex-ministers will walk the political plank too, but that's probably too much to hope for.

[Rural Radical]

THANK GOD we've got rid of Clare Short. For the past three or four years she's been like the Labour Party's mad old granny in the attic.

Best bit of political news I've heard in ages. Hopefully the likes of Peter Kilfoyle, Glenda Jackson and various other trots and embittered ex-ministers will walk the political plank too, but that's probably too much to hope for.

I think your being a bit hard on Kilfoyle. Agree with you on Jackson though.

Glad to see Short out of the party, we should have chucked her out though.