Labour threaten to expel Clare Short

12.49.46am GMT Fri 15th Sep 2006

Birmingham MP Clare Short may be disciplined for calling for a hung Parliament after the next election. Ms Short said she would not stand again for the Commons and attacked the Labour government's policy. The MP could lose the Labour whip as a result. She shrugged off the threat of punishment and said that it would be fine if that happened.

Ms Short partly blamed the prime minister's foreign policy for her decision to stand down as Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood. "I have reached a stage where I am profoundly ashamed of the government," she said. Ms Short said she would campaign for a hung Parliament, where no party had overall control. Labour should hold a third of the seats, the Tories a third and the rest should be made up of Greens and other parties, the 60-year-old claimed. "I think our political system is in trouble," she said. "Nothing is properly scrutinised, the arrogance and concentration of power in No 10 also creates incompetence in decision-making, and our foreign policy is exacerbating the problems of the world. The only answer is to get a Parliament that's more reflective of opinion in the country."