clare short

Thank you Clare Short, for going some way to articulating the anger I feel with the government and the New Labour project. The last week or so has been interesting, as I've been monitoring my feelings after learning that Blair will at last be standing down relatively soon and that, unless something drastic happens, the man I've been wanting to be Labour leader for the last nine years will almost certainly finally achieve that aim. And yet I feel just as disgusted and furious with this government as ever, just as reluctant to rejoin the party and just as determined never to vote for them again.

I don't agree with every word in Clare Short's Independent article - in which she announces her resignation from the Labour party - but she is right to say that New Labour's policies have "dishonoured the UK, undermined the UN and international law and helped to make the world a more dangerous place". I never understood the criticism over her delayed resignation over Iraq, and I'm sure that she'll be subjected to much more criticism over this desicion, particularly if she chooses to join another party or stands as an independent candidate. Like most politicians, she is fallible and has made poor decisions in the past, but she is essentially, principled and dedicated to her constituents, and I hope that she is able to continue to represent them. If there were more like her we wouldn't be in this bloody mess.