Hazel Blears resigns from cabinet

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Communities Secretary Hazel Blears has resigned from the cabinet, increasing pressure on UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown ahead of Thursday's elections.

She has been under fire over her expenses claims despite repaying £13,000 and was tipped for the axe in the forthcoming reshuffle.

The Salford MP denied doing anything wrong but Mr Brown described her claims as "totally unacceptable".

Opposition parties say Mr Brown's government is in its "death throes".

Shadow work and pensions secretary, Theresa May, for the Conservatives, said Ms Blears' resignation appeared to be a "calculated attempt to destabilise the prime minister".

She told the BBC News channel: "Frankly, the game is up for Gordon Brown. We are seeing the dying days of this Labour government."

'Deliberate'

The Conservatives and Lib Dems are likely to step up calls for a general election when Gordon Brown faces MPs at mid-day for prime minister's questions.

Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg told the BBC earlier on Wednesday the government was in its "death throes" and there were questions about "whether Britain is being governed at all".

I am returning to the grassroots (where I began), to political activism, to the cut and thrust of political debate Hazel Blears Communities Secretary <a class="" href="/1/hi/uk_politics/8080891.stm">Live commentary: PM's questions</a>

Home Secretary Jacqui Smith, who also faced expenses criticism and is also standing down, denied Ms Blears' resignation was timed to undermine Mr Brown ahead of vital local and European elections on Thursday.

In her resignation statement, Ms Blears said: "Today I have told the prime minister that I am resigning from the government.

"My politics has always been rooted in the belief that ordinary people are capable of extraordinary things, given the right support and encouragement.

"The role of a progressive government should be to pass power to the people. I've never sought high office for the sake of it, or for what I can gain, but for what I can achieve for the people I represent and serve."

YouTube

She added: "In this next phase of my political life I am redoubling my efforts to speak up for the people of Salford as their Member of Parliament. I am returning to the grassroots (where I began), to political activism, to the cut and thrust of political debate.

"Most of all I want to help the Labour Party to reconnect with the British people, to remind them that our values are their values, that their hopes and dreams are ours too.

"I am glad to be going home to the people who matter the most to me: the people of Salford.

"Finally, there's an important set of elections tomorrow. My message is simple: get out and vote Labour."

Downing Street said Mr Brown "respects and understands" Ms Blears' decision to quit the cabinet and believes she made "an outstanding contribution to public life".

The Salford MP is a former Labour Party chairman and was one of the most prominent Blairites in Gordon Brown's cabinet but she came last in the poll to be Labour deputy leader two years ago.

She has been unusually forthright in her criticisms of the government and last month launched what was seen as thinly-veiled attack on Mr Brown in a newspaper article, criticising the government's "lamentable" failure to get its message across.

In an apparent jibe at the PM's much-mocked appearance on YouTube, she said: "YouTube if you want to. But it's no substitute for knocking on doors or setting up a stall in the town centre."