After Labour came to power in 1997, Clare Short served as the UK’s first cabinet-level Secretary of State for International Development, a post she would go on to hold for six years. In this role, she secured large increases in the British government’s overseas aid budget and persuaded then-chancellor Gordon Brown to write off the debts to Britain of Africa’s poorest countries. A famously independent-minded politician, she stood down from her role over the Iraq war in 2003 and later resigned the Labour whip in 2006. She then served the remainder of her term as an independent before standing down as an MP in 2010.

She joined us on It’s Bloody Complicated to discuss the legacy of New Labour, the future of the UK’s role in international development and how the current political moment compares to 1997.

Support the show

Enjoyed the podcast and want to be a live audience member at our next episode? Want to have the chance in raising questions to the panelist?

Support our work and be a part of the Compass community. Become a member!

You can find us on Twitter at @CompassOffice.

Twitter Mentions