Education
She was educated at Nottingham County Grammar School and Manchester University.
She was educated at Nottingham County Grammar School and Manchester University.
She was a journalist. Active in the Labour and Company-operative Parties, she served as a councillor on Hertfordshire County Council 1952-1967 and Watford Rural District Council 1952-1956. Short contested Saint Albans at the 1955 general election and Watford in the 1959 election.
She retained her seat at subsequent general elections until her retirement at the 1987 election.
She also served on the Labour National Executive Committee 1970-1981 and 1983-1988. Short was on the left-wing of the Labour Party and often clashed with her constituency neighbour Enoch Powell.
She was an early advocate of abortion reform. She was for many years national president of the Campaign for Nursery Education, and of the Nursery Schools Association.
And she was vice-president of the Women"s National Cancer Control Campaign.
She had hopes of being appointed to the government in 1974 but believed she had suffered by openly stating her ambition on the British Broadcasting Corporation television election results programme (she said "If Harold"s any sense, he"ll know what to do"). Later in her career she received a regular cr as "Parliamentary Adviser" to the Yorkshire Television sitcom The New Statesman.
43rd United Kingdom Parliament. 44th United Kingdom Parliament. 45th United Kingdom Parliament.
46th United Kingdom Parliament.
47th United Kingdom Parliament. 48th United Kingdom Parliament.
49th United Kingdom Parliament]
At the 1964 general election, she was elected to succeed John Baird as Member of Parliament for Wolverhampton North East.
