Keighley MP Ann Cryer has been named as one of the most rebellious MPs in the Labour government.

And she is among a group of only 22 new Labour MPs elected in 1997 who have voted against the government in the first Parliament.

Among the 65 new woman MPs, the so-called Blair Babes, she is one of only two who have broken ranks - the other is Christine Butler.

In a list of the most rebellious new MPs compiled by the University of Hull, Ann Cryer is ranked fifth of the new intake of 184 Labour MPs in May, 1997.

And it is a family trait because her son John, who won his seat at the last election, is listed as fourth most rebellious of the new intake.

This week Mrs Cryer - widow of the outspoken left-wing MP Bob Cryer, who represented Keighley in the 1970s and died in a car crash in the early 1990s - is in Strasbourg at a Council of Europe meeting.

She is a Yorkshire representative and is among the MPs discussing human rights in Europe.

A spokesman for her constituency party said: "Ann believes in sticking to her beliefs and principles.''

She had broken ranks with the Government on four issues - lone parent benefits, the Iraqi bombing, tuition fees for students and the introduction of emergency measures following the Omagh bombing this summer.

So far she had not been rebuked by the Labour Whips despite the reported tough stand they were taking against rebellious MPs, she added.

In the past, the research shows women MPs have been as rebellious, if not more so, than male MPs.

The Hull research team, led by Phillip Cowley said: "I think the women are less rebellious not because they are spineless but because they are biding their time in the hope of getting onto the front bench where they can then make the changes they want to see."

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