Ex-Labour minister cuts ties in bid for new party

Former Cabinet minister Shirley Williams quit the executive of Britain's opposition Labour Party in the latest move toward formation of a Social Democratic Party. She and other Labour figures upset by the party's leftward swing are now widely expected to launch the new party this year. Mrs. Williams is one of four former Labour ministers who last month set up a Council for Social Democracy, although none has yet left the party. An opinion poll in The Times of London indicated that a centrist alliance of Social Democrats with the Liberal Party could take power in Britain.