Hung parliament ‘good for Commons’ – Clare Short
By politics.co.uk staff
Former Labour minister Clare Short has said she favours a hung parliament.
The former international development secretary told the Today programme earlier that an election which saw no party take overall control would restore power to the Commons and curb government arrogance.
Ms Short, who stepped down last week after 27 years as an MP, said: “The Labour party has considerably lost its way. The state of the Commons is terrible. No one goes in the chamber.
“Everything is guillotined. You can’t get any time to make a substantial speech. Nobody listens to anybody. It’s miserable.
“It’s in very bad shape, this parliament, as we leave.
“I think a hung parliament would be terribly good for us because it would bring some power back to the chamber.”
Ms Short left the government and Labour party over the war in Iraq.
