Sayeeda Warsi's resignation was brave, but was it wise? | Michael White

Would Lady Warsi have done more good for the causes she feels strongly about if she stayed to fight on the inside?

The highly partisan response to Sayeeda Warsi's damaging resignation from David Cameron's government revives an old political question: when is it right to resign on a point of policy or principle rather than to fight one's corner from inside?

The glib answer is always "not enough politicians resign for such reasons" as distinct from being one of a steady trickle of ministers and MPs forced out by errors or personal misconduct, real or cooked up by Fleet Street. But it's rarely that easy, any more than the resigner's complex motives are to disentangle.

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