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Blears to face confidence motion Blears to face confidence motion
(10 minutes later)
Hazel Blears will face a motion of no confidence next week at a meeting of her constituency Labour Party.Hazel Blears will face a motion of no confidence next week at a meeting of her constituency Labour Party.
Her decision to quit as communities secretary, on the eve of the English council and European elections last week, has been widely criticised.Her decision to quit as communities secretary, on the eve of the English council and European elections last week, has been widely criticised.
She has told the Manchester Evening News she regretted the timing of her departure and its effect on the party.She has told the Manchester Evening News she regretted the timing of her departure and its effect on the party.
Labour crashed to its lowest share of the vote at the European elections and lost control of four key councils.Labour crashed to its lowest share of the vote at the European elections and lost control of four key councils.
In an interview with the Manchester Evening News, Ms Blears - MP for Salford - said she regretted "enormously" the timing of her resignation and had not expected it to cause a "huge firestorm".
She also said she regretted mocking Prime Minister Gordon Brown's YouTube video and wearing a badge saying "rocking the boat" as she quit.
But Brian Simpson, the Labour MEP for the north west of England told BBC Radio 4's PM programme he had been "annoyed" at Ms Blears' resignation just as Labour activists were out knocking on doors ahead of the elections.
"We were out there on the streets in tough times and to have that happen, it was a bit of a body blow," he said.
"I know there's a lot of very unhappy Labour Party members out there."
And Lindsay Hoyle, the Labour MP for Chorley, also told the BBC a lot of Labour activists were angry at the Salford MP.
He said: "It's fine for people like myself to forgive Hazel. But it's not me who she's got to apologise to. It's the people of Salford and all the candidates that were standing on election day and the activists who were knocking on the doors. It's the upset that's caused there."
He said some people blamed Ms Blears for a drop in the Labour vote and subsequent BNP victories in the region.