Clare Short

British politician (born 1946)

The Right Honourable

Clare Short

Short in 2011

Secretary of State for International Development
In office
2 May 1997 – 12 May 2003
Prime Minister| Tony Blair
Preceded by| The Baroness Chalker of Wallasey[a]
Succeeded by| The Baroness Amos
Member of Parliament
for Birmingham Ladywood
In office
9 June 1983 – 12 April 2010
Preceded by| John Sever
Succeeded by| Shabana Mahmood
Shadow portfolios
1996–1997| Shadow Minister for Overseas Development
1995–1996| Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
1993–1995| Shadow Minister for Women
Personal details
Born|  (1946-02-15) 15 February 1946 (age 77)
Birmingham, England
Political party| Independent (since 2006)
Other political
affiliations| Labour (until 2006)
Spouse|

Alex Lyon

(m. 1981; died 1993)​

Alma mater| University of Leeds
Signature|
Website| Official website

Clare Short (born 15 February 1946) is a British politician who served as Secretary of State for International Development from 1997 to 2003.

Short began her career as a civil servant. A member of the Labour Party until 2006, she was Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood from 1983 to 2010. For most of this period, she was a Labour Party MP.

Following the 1997 United Kingdom general election, Short was made the first cabinet-level Secretary of State for International Development. She resigned from the cabinet over the Iraq War. She also resigned the party whip in 2006 and served the remainder of her term as an independent politician, leaving parliament at the 2010 general election.[1]

## Early and personal life[edit]

Short was born in Birmingham in 1946 to Irish Catholic parents from County Armagh, Northern Ireland.[2][3][4] She attended St Paul's School for Girls in Birmingham.[5]

She was later supportive of peaceful Sinn Féin initiatives, but never a supporter of IRA violence, some of the worst of which was inflicted in a 1974 bombing of her home city of Birmingham.[6][7]

Completing her degree in political science at the University of Leeds, she became a civil servant working for 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 at the 1983 general election she was elected as MP for the Birmingham Ladywood constituency, the area where she had grown up.

Short is a paternal cousin of Canadian actor Martin Short.[8]

## Political career[edit]

### Member of Parliament[edit]

Appearing on television discussion After Dark "Counting the Cost of a Free Press" in 1991

At the start of her career, she was firmly on the left-wing of the Labour 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.[9] Clark's colleagues on the government benches in turn accused Short of using unparliamentary language and the Deputy Speaker, Ernest Armstrong, asked her to withdraw her accusation.[10] Clark later admitted in his diaries that Short had been correct in her assessment.

In 1986, Short introduced a Private Members Bill in the House of Commons which proposed banning Page 3 photographs of topless models featured in The Sun and other British tabloid newspapers.[11][12] In order to ensure her motion would be tabled, she slept in Parliament overnight. For this Private Members Bill, she was nicknamed by The Sun "killjoy Clare" and "Crazy Clare."[13][14] One paper bought and published alleged photographs of Short in her nightwear from her ex-husband. She stated they were pictures of somebody else's body with her face superimposed.[15] The Sun also sent a busload of Page 3 models to her home where she lived with her elderly mother.[14] Clare gave a definitive account of her attitude towards tabloid nudity and the negative role that pornography plays more generally in society in her introduction to the book Dear Clare (1991), which presents a selection of the many letters of support she received from women in response to her campaign.[11][16]

She supported John Prescott in the Labour Party 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 party 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.

In 1989 she raised the issue of abuse of police procedure and fabrication of evidence at the West Midlands Serious Crime Squad, relaying concerns of Birmingham solicitors that many miscarriages of justice had taken place.[17]

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 (1993-1995), Shadow Transport Secretary (1995-1996) and Opposition Spokesperson for Overseas Development (1996-1997).[18] Clare was also a member of Labour's National Executive Committee (NEC) from 1988 to 1997 and Chair of the NEC's Women's Committee (1993-1996).[18] At the 1995 Labour Party 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 then-leader Tony Blair.[19] However, in 1996, Short was moved to the Overseas Development portfolio, a move which she saw as a demotion.[20] Short also called for the legalisation of cannabis.

### Secretary of State for International Development[edit]

Following the 1997 general election, 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.[18] She retained this post throughout the first term of the Labour government, and beyond the 2001 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."[21] A few months later, the island of Montserrat (one of the United Kingdom's few remaining overseas territories) was devastated by a volcanic 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 nineteenth century colonial and Conservative government."[22]

#### Land reform in Zimbabwe[edit]

On 6 November 1997, Short sent a letter to Kumbirai Kangai, Minister of Agriculture of Zimbabwe, 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 pledge from the United Kingdom government to assist in land reform.[23]

#### Position on the arms trade[edit]

In December 1997, Short signed the UK into the Ottawa Convention, banning the production, handling and use of anti-personnel mines.[24]

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."[25] The following year, she claimed that Britain was "committed to combating small arms availability and misuse."[26]

#### Kosovo bombing[edit]

Short approved of the NATO bombing of the headquarters of Serbian state television, in which sixteen media workers were killed and sixteen others wounded, because the station was, as she put it, "a source of propaganda".[27]

#### Resignation[edit]

On 9 March 2003, Short repeatedly called Tony Blair "reckless" in a BBC radio interview[28] and threatened to resign from the Cabinet in the event of the UK 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 following her decision to back the 2003 Iraq War. She resigned on 12 May. In her resignation statement in the House of Commons the following day she stated: "In both the run-up to the war and now, I think the UK is making grave errors in providing cover for the US mistakes rather than helping an old friend... American power alone cannot make America safe... But undermining international law and the authority of the UN creates the risk of instability, bitterness and growing terrorism that will threaten the future for all of us."[29]

Her later, Conservative, successor in the post, Andrew Mitchell, described her as "a brilliant development secretary".[30]

### Backbenches[edit]

#### Bugging of the UN[edit]

Main article: Spying on the United Nations

On 26 February 2004, Short alleged on the BBC Today radio programme that British spies regularly intercept UN communications, including those of Kofi Annan, then Secretary-General.[31] 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.[32] 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, the former Foreign Secretary, wrote that in his experience he would be surprised if the claims were true.

A few days later, on 29 February, Short appeared on ITV's Jonathan Dimbleby programme, on which she revealed that she had been written to by Britain's most 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 Short's expulsion from the Privy Council or legal action under the Official Secrets Act. Either course of action have been without recent precedent; at the time, no Privy Counsellor had been expelled since Sir Edgar Speyer was accused of collaborating with the Germans during the First World War. On 1 March 2004, a Downing Street spokesman refused to rule out such a step.

However, in the same interview on with Jonathan Dimbleby, 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."[33]

#### Book[edit]

Clare Short's book, An Honourable Deception?: New Labour, Iraq, and the Misuse of Power, was released by Free Press in November 2004.[34][35] It was an account of her career in New Labour, most notably her relationship with Prime Minister Tony Blair, the relationship between Blair and Gordon Brown and the build-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The book won Channel 4's Political Book of the Year Award for 2004.[36]

In December 2004, Short was reportedly critical of US 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.[citation needed]

#### Statements on Israel[edit]

Short speaking at a rally in Birmingham in January 2009, urging the crowd "not forget the crimes being committed against the people of Gaza" following the 2008–2009 Israel–Gaza conflict

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.[37] Short has expressed support for a boycott of Israel, stating at the 2007 United Nations International Conference of Civil Society in Support of Israeli-Palestinian Peace that "The boycott worked for South Africa, it is time to do it again".[38][39] She also told the conference that Israel is "much worse than the original apartheid state" and that Israel "undermines the international community's reaction to global warming".[40][41]

#### Relationship with al-Manar Television[edit]

According to The Guardian, Short accepted £1,580 worth of flights, hotel accommodation, food and travel expenses from al-Manar Television in Lebanon in 2008. Al-Manar is described by the US government as "the media arm of the Hezbollah terrorist network", and was classed as a specially designated terrorist entity by the US in 2006.

Short said her trip had been registered with Commons authorities and that the visit allowed her to see how reconstruction in southern Lebanon was proceeding after the country's conflict with Israel in 2006.[42]

#### Announced retirement[edit]

On 12 September 2006, Short announced that she would not be standing at the next general election.[43] In a brief statement, Short said she was "ashamed" of Tony Blair's government and backed proportional representation, which she hoped would be achieved through a hung parliament.[44] The Labour Party Chief Whip referred the matter to the Labour Party National Executive Committee to consider disciplinary action.[45] On Friday 20 October, Short resigned the Labour whip and announced that she would sit as an Independent Labour MP.[46][47] Short received a written reprimand from Labour's Chief Whip shortly before the news of her resignation of the party whip was announced.[48]

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.[49]

#### Chilcot Inquiry[edit]

On 2 February 2010, Short appeared before the Chilcot Inquiry 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.[50][51][52]

## After Parliament[edit]

### Chairwoman of the EITI[edit]

On 1 March 2011, she was elected as Chairwoman of the EITI (the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative) at the EITI Global Conference in Paris.[53]

### Policy work with Cities Alliance[edit]

Since 2006, Short has been a member of the Cities Alliance Policy Advisory Board and subsequently chaired the Policy Advisory Forum,[54] described as a "platform for public discussion, debate and knowledge sharing" on urban poverty and the role of cities.[55]

### Birmingham Mayoral candidate consideration[edit]

In January 2011, Short expressed an interest in becoming a candidate for the Mayor of Birmingham, pending the outcome of a referendum on the creation of a directly-elected mayoralty in the city.[56] Ultimately, the proposal was defeated at a public vote in May 2012.[57]

### Ebor Lectures[edit]

On 21 May 2008, Short gave a lecture as part of the Ebor Lectures 2008 Series entitled "Apocalypse Now – Global Equity and Sustainable Living, the Preconditions for Human Survival". She spoke of the need to end the "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.[58]

## Cultural collaborations[edit]

Since 2018, Short has collaborated with public artist Martin Firrell. Firrell has quoted Short on billboards displayed across the UK. For the artist's Power and Gender series (2019), Short contributed the text, 'Distorted Power and Great Inequality Are Evil'.[59]

The Union City series (2019) included Short's observation that 'Socialism Is A Moral Idea'. Short explained: "People want to make socialism mean the Soviet Union and so on, but it also meant Clement Attlee becoming British Prime Minister in 1945, and the development of the welfare state across Europe after the war: actions that produced the best and most civilised time we have ever experienced. And what has capitalism meant? The Chilean dictator Pinochet, slavery, famine! My point is that socialism is first and foremost a moral idea not an economic system."[59][60]

* Clare Short quoted by artist Martin Firrell in Power and Gender, Digital Billboards, UK 2019

* A Moral Idea: Clare Short quoted by artist Martin Firrell, Digital Billboards, UK 2019

## Personal life[edit]

Short was briefly married to a fellow Keele University student at 18 after they had a baby when she was 17. The couple's son was given up for adoption, and did not make contact with his mother until 1996. She then discovered that her son, Toby, was a Conservative supporter who worked as a solicitor in the City of London, and had three children.

In 1981, Short married Alex Lyon, a Labour MP and minister she had worked with whilst at the Home Office. Two years later, she was elected in Birmingham Ladywood, on the same day that Lyon lost his seat.

In 1993, Short was called away from the Labour party conference to hear that her husband was very ill and likely to die. In her book An Honourable Deception, she describes how "after losing his parliamentary seat, he moved from being a senior Labour MP to running my constituency office where he gave me enormous support as well as bringing great experience to the task. Later he decided to return to the Bar, but after a time got himself into various difficulties and I began to suspect that either he was suffering a deep depression or mental deterioration. The next few years were very difficult as he engaged in strange, inexplicable behaviour. He gradually fell out with family and friends and stayed home with our St Bernard called Fred and would deal with no one but Fred and me."[61] Lyon died in Milton Keynes[62] that year from Alzheimer's disease aged 61 and was survived by his two sons Marcus and Adrian, and a daughter, Rebecca, all from a previous marriage.

## Awards[edit]

In June 2009, Short received an honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the University of Ulster in recognition of her services to international development.[63] In 2013, she was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 women.[64]

## Works[edit]

* in conversation Short, Clare with artist Firrell, Martin (2019) Socialism Is A Moral Idea. Martin Firrell Company, ISBN 978-1912622078
* 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

## Notes[edit]

1. ^ As Minister for Overseas Development

## References[edit]

1. ^ Deedes, Henry (13 September 2006). "Short to stand down after 23 years as an MP". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
2. ^ "Clare Short: Divided she stands". BBC News. 22 March 2002. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
3. ^ "Family affair spanning the Irish Sea", by Kate Watson-Smyth, The Independent, 30 June 1997, hosted on FindArticles.com[dead link]
4. ^ "John J. Ray | What England Means to Me". Whatenglandmeanstome.co.uk. Archived from the original on 3 October 2011. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
5. ^ "Biography | Clare Short". www.clareshort.org. Retrieved 19 January 2022.
6. ^ "This is my truth: interview with Laurie Taylor. | Clare Short". www.clareshort.org. 31 May 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
7. ^ "Irish terrorism and Irish peace. | Clare Short". www.clareshort.org. November 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
8. ^ McGrath, Nick (19 October 2012). "Martin Short: My family values". The Guardian. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
9. ^ "Something profound has been lost. | Clare Short". www.clareshort.org. 6 February 2010. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
10. ^ "Sex Discrimination". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). House of Commons. 20 July 1983. col. 483–484.
11. ^ a b "Introduction to Dear Clare | Clare Short". www.clareshort.org. 12 April 1991. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
12. ^ "Indecent Displays (Newspapers)". Parliamentary Debates (Hansard). 13 April 1988. Retrieved 12 January 2020.
13. ^ 'Dear Clare..This is What Women Feel About Page 3, Clare Short, Radius Publishing (1991).
14. ^ a b Reeves, Rachel (7 March 2019). Women of Westminster : the MPs who changed politics. London. ISBN 978-1-78831-677-4. OCLC 1084655208.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
15. ^ Clare Short, Meeting Myself Coming Back, BBC Four, 29–31 August 2009.
16. ^ Clare., Short (1991). Dear Clare - this is what women feel about page 3. Tunks, Kiri., Hutchinson, Diane. London: Hutchinson Radius. ISBN 0091749158. OCLC 22858719.
17. ^ Hansard (January 1989a), "West Midlands Serious Crime Squad, HC Debate", Parliamentary Debates (Hansard), pp. 1155–60
18. ^ a b c "Biography | Clare Short". www.clareshort.org. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
19. ^ "British Journalism Review Vol. 11, No. 3, 2000 – The political struggle around Orwell's stapler". Bjr.org.uk. Archived from the original on 19 July 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
20. ^ A peculiar sort of sacrifice from The Telegraph.
21. ^ Iain Martin, Maurice Chittenden, "Scots to fore as gentleman Tony completes his team," The Sunday Times (London); 4 May 1997.
22. ^ Jon Hibbs, "Short calls for an end to Montserrat aid row", Daily Telegraph, 25 August 1997
23. ^ Chris McGreal, "Blair's worse than the Tories, says Mugabe," Mail and Guardian (Johannesburg), 22 December 1997.
24. ^ Mark Thomas, As used on the famous Nelson Mendela; Underground adventures in the arms & torture trade, Ebury Press, 2006.
25. ^ "UK Parliament". from the UK Parliament.
26. ^ "UK Parliament[permanent dead link]" from the UK Parliament.
27. ^ "Nato defends TV bombing". BBC News. 23 April 1999. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
28. ^ Clare Short's "reckless" interview from the BBC.
29. ^ "Resignation statement: Errors, secrecy and control freakery - Clare Short's parting shot to Blair". The Independent. UK. 13 May 2003. Retrieved 16 October 2022.
30. ^ Bloomfield, Steve. "The war on aid: the hidden battle inside Priti Patel's own department". Retrieved 16 June 2020.
31. ^ "UK 'spied on UN's Kofi Annan'". BBC. 26 February 2004. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
32. ^ George Wright, Martin Nicholls and Matthew Tempest (26 February 2004). "Short claims UK spied on Annan". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
33. ^ Nicholas Watt (1 March 2004). "Top civil servant tells Short to shut up". The Guardian. UK. Retrieved 23 April 2008.
34. ^ Clare., Short (2005). An honourable deception? : New Labour, Iraq, and the misuse of power. London: Free. ISBN 0743263936. OCLC 58050529.
35. ^ Sawhney, Hirsh (June 2006). "Blair's House of Cards: Clare Short in conversation with Hirsh Sawhney". The Brooklyn Rail.
36. ^ "Books | Clare Short". www.clareshort.org. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
37. ^ "Britain 'colluding' in Israel oppression". The Irish Times. 6 June 2007.
38. ^ Lappin, Yaakov (20 June 1995). "UN summit: Boycott Israel". Ynetnews. Ynetnews.com. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
39. ^ Controversial UN-sponsored conference on Palestinians denounces Israeli occupation Archived 23 August 2013 at the Wayback Machine from the European Jewish Press.
40. ^ Anthony Julius (2010). Trials of the Diaspora: A History of Anti-Semitism in England. Oxford University Press. p. 752.
41. ^ Robert S. Wistrich (2010). A Lethal Obsession: Anti-Semitism from Antiquity to the Global Jihad. Random House. ISBN 978-1-4000-6097-9. p. 541.
42. ^ James Ball (25 March 2011). "MPs accepted Middle East regimes' hospitality 107 times in a decade". Guardian. London. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
43. ^ Deedes, Henry (13 September 2006). "Short to stand down after 23 years as an MP". The Independent. UK. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 23 July 2009.
44. ^ Tempest, Matthew; Mulholland, Hélène (14 September 2006). "Short faces expulsion after calling for hung parliament". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 12 April 2014.
45. ^ "Short faces expulsion after calling for hung parliament", Guardian, 12 September 2006.
46. ^ "Clare Short's letter of resignation from the Parliamentary Labour Party. | Clare Short". www.clareshort.org. 21 October 2006. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
47. ^ "Short resigns Labour whip", Epolitix.com, 20 October 2006.
48. ^ "Written reprimand means Short won't be thrown out". Icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk. Archived from the original on 14 July 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
49. ^ "Short hints at return to Labour". BBC News. 29 June 2007. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
50. ^ Clare Short: Tony Blair lied and misled parliament in build-up to Iraq war
51. ^ "The Chilcot Report will not give the people what they want. | Clare Short". www.clareshort.org. 5 July 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
52. ^ "Blair misled the country over Iraq. Something similar could happen again. | Clare Short". www.clareshort.org. 7 July 2016. Retrieved 11 August 2018.
53. ^ "Paris 2011 | EITI". Eitiparis.org. 3 March 2011. Archived from the original on 2 November 2015. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
54. ^ "Speakers". Global Forum on Local Development. UNCDF. 28 September 2010. Archived from the original on 25 March 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
55. ^ "GOVERNANCE -- OLD". Cities Alliance. UNOPS. Archived from the original on 23 February 2015. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
56. ^ "Clare Short 'interested in becoming Birmingham mayor'". BBC News. BBC. 11 January 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
57. ^ "Birmingham voters reject elected mayor plan". BBC News. BBC. 4 May 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2015.
58. ^ "Transition Town Totnes". Totnes.transitionnetwork.org. Archived from the original on 17 April 2008. Retrieved 7 October 2013.
59. ^ a b Ulbrist, Barbara (2020). Martin Firrell. Zurich Books. ISBN 9781912622214.
60. ^ "Clare Quoted in New Billboard Campaign". 25 May 2019. Retrieved 17 March 2021.
61. ^ An Honourable Deception by Clare Short
62. ^ "Find Your Ancestors & Family History - Genealogy & Ancestry - findmypast.co.uk". www.findmypast.com.
63. ^ MP Honoured For International Development Work Archived 12 June 2011 at the Wayback Machine University of Ulster.
64. ^ "100 Women: Who took part?". BBC News. 20 October 2013. Retrieved 18 December 2022.

## External links[edit]

Wikiquote has quotations related to Clare Short.

* Official website
* Guardian Politics Ask Aristotle – Clare Short MP
* TheyWorkForYou.com – Clare Short MP
* Text of Clare Short's resignation letter, October 2006 – BBC
* Clare Short has written several columns for the Birmingham Post
* Hansard 1803–2005: contributions in Parliament by Clare Short

Parliament of the United Kingdom

Preceded by

John Sever

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1983–2010 | Succeeded by

Shabana Mahmood

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