Louise Mensch Quits Parliament As Menshn Rolls On

Max Smolaks,

Will devote time to her family and Menshn microblogging platform

Louise Mensch, the Conservative MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire and co-creator of Twitter-like social network Menshn, has resigned from Parliament after admitting her job prevented her from spending enough time with her family.

Mensch and her three children will move to New York to join her husband, Metallica manager Peter Mensch. She is expected to focus on developing Menshn, where she is the highest-rated user.

Twitter, drugs and rock’n’roll

Mensch won her seat in 2010 and has since then obtained something of a celebrity status in politics. During her short career, she took part in the questioning of James and Rupert Murdoch over the News of the World phone hacking scandal, defended fox hunting and admitted to using Class A drugs.

Along the way, the former MP had also written 14 “chick lit” genre novels under her maiden name Louise Bagshawe, and posed for a fully clothed photoshoot in GQ.

Following the 2011 London riots, Mensch called for new powers for the government to shut down social networks like Twitter and Facebook during disturbances. This year, after being sent death threats by email, she has also called for the rights to identify online bullies.

Mensh launched Menshn in the UK in June as a platform for serious “on-topic” debate in 180 characters or less. Contrary to its mission, the website features elements of a social game, where users can get Menshn points when someone follows them, or if they “favourite” a room or “rate” a post. This has led to a high number of “ghost” users that have thousands of points, but no visible activity.

The site has been criticised for its complexity and messy design. It had experienced a tidal wave of vulnerability reports after its co-founder Luke Bozier tweeted that the website is “safe, clean & secure”.

“I love Corby and East Northamptonshire but my family has to come first. When I took the post I was in a different position but sometimes life throws you a curve ball that you didn’t expect. We are now going to be moving out to New Yorkas a family,” Mensch told her local paper, Northamptonshire Telegraph.


Since the announcement, “Louise Mensch” has been trending on Twitter across the UK. The former MP has already changed her profile to reflect her resignation. It now reads: “Co-founder of #menshn – (if I’m quiet here I’m on the microforums there). Author. Work in progress.”

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