Kitty's curious resignation
Kitty Ussher's resignation last night is curious. She says she is also stepping down from Parliament at the next election, because of the problems of combining politics with being the mother of two chilldren under five.
If so, why be a minister as well as an MP? She says she discussed her retirement from Parliament with Prime Minister Gordon Brown some time ago. This is strange too. Only last week she gave a Ö÷²¥´óÐã colleague of mine the strongest impression that she would be contesting the next election.
It must be intensely annoying only nine days after Mr Brown completed his reshuffle. One minister told me: "She was convinced she was going to be sacked in the reshuffle and frankly it would have been better if she had fessed up then, because now there's got to be another bloody change."
So another woman leaves the government - following on from Jacqui Smith, Beverley Hughes, Hazel Blears, Caroline Flint and Jane Kennedy. And another Blairite quits - after Smith, Blears, James Purnell, John Hutton and Caroline Flint.
I'm Michael Crick, and I'm Newsnight's political editor. My guiding rule is that in any story there's usually something the politicians would prefer the world not to know. My job is to find that out. Follow me on
Comment number 1.
At 18th Jun 2009, carolp wrote:This comment was removed because the moderators found it broke the house rules. Explain.
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Comment number 2.
At 18th Jun 2009, GlobalTemplar wrote:Perhaps its a clever plan from the Blairites to cover their tracks, they will be standing down from Labour but coming back as another party, perhaps its the SDP all over again!
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Comment number 3.
At 18th Jun 2009, Phillip wrote:She left to spare herself the ignominy of losing one of the safest Labour seats in England at the next election.
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Comment number 4.
At 19th Jun 2009, carolp wrote:So many Blairites falling - should we return to best person for the job rather than female at any price?
As a Burnley resident, I have been let down by Kitty.
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