Helen Clark (British Politician) - Parliamentary Career

Parliamentary Career

Clark had previously stood unsuccessfully as the Labour candidate for Faversham in the 1992 general election. For the subsequent 1997 General Election she was selected, from an all-women shortlist., as the Labour candidate for Peterborough. She was elected with a majority of 7,323.

Whilst in Parliament, Clark had an interest in wildlife issues and was a leading Labour voice in opposition to violent animal rights protests. She was a member of the Environmental Audit and Broadcasting Select Committees; completed the NCVO parliamentary scheme with secondments to ASBAH and MIND and founded the All Party Wildlife Group. The Bill committees she sat on included Finance Bill, Water Bill and Countryside & Rights of Way Bill.

Early on in her parliamentary career, Clark was considered loyal to her party leaders, but later opposed the Iraq War.

Three days after her defeat in 2005, she resigned from the Labour Party. In a letter to Labour Leader Tony Blair, she was critical of policies such as top-up fees and the Iraq War. Clark suggested that were Kenneth Clarke to win the Tory leadership she might be tempted to switch sides. However, it was subsequently reported she had not joined the Conservative Party, and did not intend to. She re-joined the Labour Party in 2010 and is a member of UNISON.