It is a shame she couldn't see that her position was untenable as soon as she made the "Reckless" comment.She could of retained her integrety and her political powerbase.

I see she has resigned because of the role, or lack of it,of the UN in the post Saddam Iraq after being reassured by the Prime Minister before the war started.
There is a chance that by highlighting yet another lie Blair has told to the British public she may regain some of her lost powerbase.

Her resignation speech in the house will be very interesting especially if she reveals the details of the assurances Blair gave her.

Blair must go.You can be Prime Minister or you can be a liar but you can not be both.

Thank god for that. Now lets hope she retires from politics having made herself look like a complete and utter fool.

"There is a chance that by highlighting yet another lie Blair has told to the British public she may regain some of her lost powerbase.

Her resignation speech in the house will be very interesting especially if she reveals the details of the assurances Blair gave her."

Can`t wait to hear what she says in the speech. As you say it may damage Blair and increase her own postion. I think we may see a S.h.i.f.t in the dynamics of power inside the Labour party.

Tony must have been expecting this for some while as I see the appointment of a successor is almost instantaneous.


[Edited on 12-5-2003 by cassini]

Resignation letter in full. Ain't politics fun? This could kick off for a few days I think.

>>>

Dear Tony

I have decided I must leave the government.

As you know, I thought the run-up to the conflict in Iraq was mishandled, but I agreed to stay in the government to help support the reconstruction effort for the people of Iraq.

I am afraid that the assurances you gave me about the need for a UN mandate to establish a legitimate Iraqi government have been breached.

The Security Council resolution that you and Jack have so secretly negotiated contradicts the assurances I have given in the House of Commons and elsewhere about the legal authority of the occupying powers, and the need for a UN-led process to establish a legitimate Iraqi government. This makes my position impossible.

It has been a great honour for me to have led the establishment and development of the Department for International Development over the past six years.

I am proud of what we have achieved and much else that the government has done.

I am sad and sorry that it has ended like this.

Yours

Clare

I was sleeping with Bush, HAHA!

Oh..here we go again!

Agree with you Cassini....since the goverment knew she would probably do her 'resignation' thingy again...they had a back-up plan ready and waiting!

MAKE UP YOUR MIND WOMAN!!!!!!!!!

The most damaging resignation speech I remember seeing was Geofrey Howes' "Broken Cricket Bat"speech which was the beginning of the end for Thatcher.Unfortunately Short lacks his gavitas and integrity but I get the impression that she is going to let rip.
It is obvious Blair has misled a member of his own cabinet one who,under normal circumstances,should of played an important part in discussions on how Iraq reconstruction should be organised..
By lying to her he has not only damaged his own personal integrity but also laid to rest any doubts about his commitment to the office of International Development and the work that it does.
Blair likes to go to Africa and other poor areas of the world and declare his commitment to improving their lot but in reality he is willing lie to the minister responsible.

This is the final nail in the coffin for Blair's "Conscientious Foreign Policy"he can no longer hide behind that fig leaf when it's two main architects,Clare Short and Robin Cook, have resigned instead he will be shown as the appeaser of US aggression that he is.

That's the only good thing that can come from this. If Clare manages to underline the fact that Blair has completely failed in all of his promises on post-war Iraq, then that'll damage him far more than one more resignation before the war.

That said, Clare herself has played this very badly and is politically dead. It's far too easy for Blair to just dismiss her resignation as something that was expected from a loony leftie...

Straw makes a statement about the UN resolution this afternoon.It is unclear if Short will be allowed to give her resignation speech today.

If there is a vote in the House of Commons on the UN resolution it may be interesting.

Baroness Amos,because she is in the Lords,can not even give a statement to the Commons.

"Baroness Amos,because she is in the Lords,can not even give a statement to the Commons"

Very shrewd move.

"You can be Prime Minister or you can be a liar but you can not be both."

Sadly I have to disagree, in reality, and agree in principal. I don`t think you can even go into politics without being an accomplished liar, making it to the top seems to suggest you are the best liar.

"The most damaging resignation speech I remember seeing was Geofrey Howes' "Broken Cricket Bat"speech which was the beginning of the end for Thatcher.Unfortunately Short lacks his gavitas and integrity but I get the impression that she is going to let rip."

You may be right with Geoff Howes (never did like the tories but some were alright) but there seems to be a dearth of politicians lacking integrity nowadays.
I hope Short does let rip but there may be easier ways to take the wind out of her sails than Robin Cook.

Typical just when it gets interesting my satellite channels go up the creek

Clare Short just did her resignation speech. Apparently she was pretty outspoken, anyone got a link to a text of her speech or a video of it?

BBC : "Tony Blair has 'increasing obsession' with place in history"

Any more choice quotes that people have discovered?

"Tony Blair will have been braced for a characteristically blunt assault from Clare Short.

But few would have predicted just how brutal, personal and potentially damaging her attack would be.

She accused the prime minister of being so obsessed with his own place in history that he was turning into a dictator. "


LOL Brutal, personal and damaging? Do you serisouly think that scumbag blair gives a crap? Yes, he is self obsessed and on a power trip but he's simply serving his masters well and will be rewarded in due course. Just like John Major was with his position at the carlyle group.

And don't think for a second that every move clare short makes isn't to save her own ass. Same goes for robin cook. They'll probably be welcomed in much more powerful and profitable positions at the UN or EU if we don't see a s-h-i-f-t that way in party policies.

[Edited on 12-5-2003 by levitationjunkie]

"I don`t think you can even go into politics without being an accomplished liar, making it to the top seems to suggest you are the best liar."

Good call cassini, the only difference between the clare shorts and the tony blairs is that she is obviously so full of herself she didn't realise she was expendable.

She also did a great job for the labour party in cushioning most of the anti-war sentiments aimed at the labour party prior to the invasion of iraq. I think theres much more to the complexity of the process and propaganda involved in going to war than you've so far imagined.

To me this is almost as theatrical as the UN security council meetings.

Of all the things she has said ,openly questioning the legality of the coalition to rebuild Iraq instead of the UN driving the process could prove to be an arrow that finds a home.

The Torys have quickly distanced themselves on the issue and have callled for the Government to publish the legal advice that Short has said the government is ignoring.Hoon on behalf of the government has derided the need to publish and it looks like the UK government do not want us to see it.

They will be forced to publish and if the Attorney General has questioned the legalities then there could be real trouble for Blair.

Ahh classic manoeuvre, back em them stab em. Who will remember the tories backing Blair on this if they the whole issue is later thrown in the air. Good anticipation by IDS? Lets face it the leader of the oppostion won`t face the same sort of flack for backing Blair in this as the man himself. Lets not forget their "whole hearted" backing of Blair.

Short is an appalling self-seeker: lacked the conviction to resign when she said she would and lacks the grace to go quietly.
Notice that she has not resigned her parliamentary seat and will still have a very nice salary, thank you.

She is an MP from Estragon's home city: her record of local corruption is astounding and she stays there purely as a result of gerrymandered ethnic-minority voting.
Blair cut her off at the pass on that one by replacing here with Amos: a token black.

Do you have a Brummie accent Estragon?

But seriously there is no moral obligation for her to resign her parliamentary seat nor for that matter the Labour party which,despite the leanings of the govrnment,is more closely aligned with the views of Clare Short.There is not even a precedent for ministers resigning their parliamentary seat.

As for accusations that she is self seeking which politician on either side of the House is not??
As for the other accusations I can not comment but boundary changes are today being used as a weapon of consolodation in the same way the Torys had done before.
Amos is unelected,and is not even answerable to the democratic chamber.Her appointment reinforces the accusation that Blair is presidential and does not like democratic accountability.

Estragon is correct when he says she should of resigned before,however,I believe that she genuinely felt that resigning would not allow her to be a powerful voice in Iraqs reconstruction.

I believe the comments she has made since her resignation are correct and it is because she is now telling it how it is,that her words have so much resonance around the country this morning.