Clare Short

Labour MP Birmingham Ladywood

Date of birth

15 February 1946

Political profile

Clare Short is one of Labour's most senior female MPs and probably one of the most high profile.

She was a member of the cabinet as secretary of state for international development from the 1997 election until she quit over the Iraq war in 2003.

Ms Short has had a career which has been marked throughout by controversy and rows with Labour's leadership since her first election in 1983.

On the mainstream left of the Labour party, she is regarded as one of the most forthright and plain-speaking MPs in the Commons.

This has sometimes led her to diverge from the leadership's script.

Nonetheless, her abilities have ensured her a consistent place on the frontbench.

She was the subject of tabloid attacks in the 1980s when she attempted to ban "Page 3 girls".

Contact

Commons office 0207 219 4264