Alan Simpson MP: A good man in Westminster

For Alan Simpson, the turning point came with the birth of his daughter Elie, 13 months ago. After carving out a successful career as a familiar and colourful figure on the Labour backbenches, enough was enough.

The MP arrived at a stark conclusion: if his daughter were to enjoy a secure future, more would have to be done to combat global warming. Disillusioned with an increasingly ineffective Parliament, he decided Westminster was no longer capable of listening to his demands for more radical action.

Yesterday, Mr Simpson took the bold step of announcing to his Nottingham South constituency that, after 13 years as their MP, he was quitting to carry on campaigning on "green" issues outside Parliament.

Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, the frequent recipients of Mr Simpson's critical tongue, may weep few tears at his departure at the next election, but many believe Parliament will be a poorer place. And for those who fear politics is increasingly dominated by spin and is bereft of principle, Mr Simpson's decision may offer some reassurance.

The 58-year-old has become a fully paid-up member of Parliament's awkward squad, the band of irrepressible trouble-makers on both sides of the House who refuse to be silenced by whips and are prepared to sacrifice careers for principles.

Yesterday, Mr Simpson tried to sum up his philosophy: "I never went into Parliament to have a career. I went in to change the world. I'm leaving because I still want to change the world, and I don't think you can do that in this Parliament," he said. In a letter to his Nottingham South party, he said: "My worry is that it has become a comfort zone in which MPs are paid more and more to stand for less and less."

In his constituency home, he has also shown that he is willing to practise what he preaches. He has built an eco-friendly house where he lives with his French-Canadian partner, Pascale, and their baby daughter Elie.

Mr Simpson - who has children by an earlier marriage - said it was Elie's birth that finally convinced him he was wasting his time. "This is where I just have to be brave and act on what I believe," he said. "I haven't got anything lined up. I'm giving up the security of my MPs' salary to do something for the security of my daughter's future. The Stern Report said it would cost one per cent of GDP to bring about the scale of change we need to affect climate change. Instead, we are stuck with a series of Mickey Mouse measures that are either short-term and insufficient, or hopelessly misdirected or dishonest."

His resignation letter pulled few punches when it came to colleagues. He wrote: "There are good people in the Parliamentary Labour Party; just not enough of them. Many MPs complain of a government that no longer listens to the party, but they dutifully walk through the division lobbies to vote for whatever regressive measures Downing Street asks for. At times I feel that colleagues would vote for the slaughter of the first-born if asked to."

His comments have not made him popular among Labour MPs. He was a runner-up in the Channel 4 political awards last week, but Lembit Opik, the Liberal Democrat, and another maverick at Westminster, said he was "the rebel without applause".

His CV as a Labour rebel is impressive. He has voted against student top-up fees, ID cards, anti-terror laws and the war in Iraq. He was one of the first MPs to raise fears about the reversal of the Gulf stream, but few took him seriously.

He says he is not going because he is looking for an easier life. "I never assumed it would be any different. I didn't go into Parliament for an easy time. I went in for a whole set of things I believed in. I accepted it was the role of those who wanted to challenge the status quo. I want to be free to do so outside Parliament."

Mr Simpson is giving up a relatively safe Labour seat with a majority of more than 7,000 at the last election. Asked why he does not stay and fight, he said: "Because I don't think the changes are going to be driven inside Parliament. There is a desperate short-termism that consumes you. Parliament is dominated by playground games: who's gang are you in?

"I think the danger is that Parliament becomes a politics-free zone, where people are more interested in their careers than the issues that really matter to people outside. People position themselves around loyalty and career opportunities and the debate is arranged around short-term options - should we lock up more prisoners, not should we be looking at alternatives to prison?"

He has been a continuous thorn in the side of Mr Blair and what he sees as a despotic style of leadership. "Tony Blair's legacy will be to have done for the grassroots of the Labour Party what Margaret Thatcher did for Tory grass roots. He has decimated the party in the country," he said.

Mr Simpson says he was threatened by Jacqui Smith, the chief whip, for saying that Gordon Brown as Mr Blair's successor would be like Uday taking over from his father, Saddam Hussein. Mr Simpson left her office convinced he would be thrown out of the party if he stepped out of line again as a warning to others. For anyone hoping for preferment from a Brown premiership, it was a suicidal remark, but he remains unabashed. In his resignation letter he is unrepentant. "My worries about a Brown leadership are that it would turn out to be worse than Blair's," he said. "Blair just ignored the party. He knew that all of his real friends were outside it. Brown would want to make sure all of his enemies were outside the Party ... and that means most of his critics.

"The Party does have other choices of direction, but it isn't clear that either John McDonnell or Michael Meacher will be able to secure the 44 MP's nominations that would force a leadership contest. This would leave us with a shoe-in of Brown."

He told the chief whip, when she hauled him in for a dressing down, that Mr Blair was guilty of war crimes, but he had never called for the Prime Minister to resign as he thought the whole of the Cabinet was guilty. "She said I was being unhelpful. I said the whole of the leadership should be referred to the international criminal courts for a war crime."

He was not a one-issue MP though, warning about global warming long before it became fashionable. He produced an alternative "green" economic manifesto which neither Mr Blair nor Mr Brown appeared prepared to adopt, until the Stern report gave some official status to his dire predictions.

Not all the rebels agree with Mr Simpson's criticisms. The other great veteran Labour rebel, Dennis Skinner, has been thrown out of the Commons more often than Mr Simpson for being outspoken, but he is regarded as a "Commons man" and has never been ready to quit Parliament.

Having been steeped in the Commons for more than a decade, he also knows his departure will start tongues wagging. But he said: "I have no other job I have lined up for myself. I am not leaving to avoid a scandal. I have no desire to spend time with other people's families."

Born and brought up in Merseyside, he was a community worker and racism campaigner when he won the seat in the Thatcher era. He has a regular column in the Communist Morning Star, but denies being a Marxist. As he begins planning his new life, Mr Simpson was pondering his political epitaph yesterday. After brief reflection, he said: "I have always described myself as middle of the road. It's just I wanted to redefine the road."

In his own words

* ON PARLIAMENT

"My worry is that [Parliament] has become a comfort zone in which MPs are paid more and more to stand for less and less... Many MPs complain of a government that no longer listens to the party, but they then dutifully walk through the Division lobbies to vote for whatever regressive measures Downing Street asks for. At times I feel that colleagues would vote for the slaughter of the first born if asked."

* ON NEW LABOUR

"In a country that is economically rich, the poverty we face is in vision, intellect and political courage. New Labour never had this. It was a merchandising machine, highly skilled in selling the superficial on behalf of the powerful."

"Downing Street may not have liked my comments about the war, but they really need to get out more. It is the party's self-destructive abandonment of principles that is causing the haemorrhage of support for Labour, not those who try to criticise it."

* ON BLAIR/BROWN

"Choosing between Blair and Brown is like choosing between Saddam and Uday ... They're as bad as each other."

* ON CLIMATE CHANGE

"We have probably got 10, maybe 15 years maximum to make some huge fundamental changes in the way that we organise society if we are going to manage our way through the worst aspects of climate change. And I think Parliament is out to lunch on this... If the momentum of Parliament is as detached as it has been so far about climate change and the failure to make these changes now, then I do not want to be a part of that cover-up."

* ON IRAQ

"British soldiers will be used to protect US profits. Those who die are no more than blood money for corporate America."

"The tragedy is, Iraq is a country littered with innocent lives, buried under organised lies. There is no point saying the transgressors should be held responsible under international law unless it applies equally to ourselves."

Keep the faith: Five more MPs with principles

Norman Baker, Liberal Democrat

The tenacious MP for Lewes is a single-minded investigator of the hidden recesses of public life, regardless of personal opprobrium. Played a key part in forcing Peter Mandelson's second Cabinet resignation, forced MI5 to open secret files and won a campaign to have MPs' travel expenses published.

Iain Duncan-Smith, Conservative

In retrospect, Mr Duncan-Smith's ill-fated brief spell as Tory leader might prove to be the blip in an unconventional political career. He was a rebel ringleader against John Major over Europe and today does his own thing, founding the Centre for Social Justice and examining the problems facing inner cities.

Gwyneth Dunwoody, Labour

The longest-serving woman MP is such a thorn in the Labour leadership's side that there was an unsuccessful bid to remove her as chair of the Transport Select Committee six years ago. Has rebelled on trust schools, terrorism legislation and identity cards and takes no prisoners in her analysis of transport policy.

Frank Field, Labour

The MP for Birkenhead has been regarded as a maverick since calling for an anti-Tory "rainbow coalition" during the Thatcher era. Got his big chance when he was appointed by Tony Blair as a minister to think the unthinkable on social security. It proved short-lived and he was dropped for being too radical.

Richard Shepherd, Conservative

During the past 28 years, the MP for Aldridge-Brownhills has gained a reputation as one of the most independent minds on any party bench. Oblivious to the "charms" of Tory top brass, he always votes as he sees fit. His virulent Euroscepticism led to his losing the party whip under John Major.