Clare Short (born 15 February, 1946) is a British politician and a member of the British Labour Party. She is currently the Independent Member of Parliament for Birmingham Ladywood, having been elected as a Labour Party MP in 1983, and was Secretary of State for International Development in the UK Labour government from 3 May, 1997 until her resignation on 12 May, 2003. She plans to stand down as a Member of Parliament at the next general election.