David Davis strikes blow for liberty

I suspect that a divergence of opinion within the Shadow Cabinet is part of the reasoning behind this. I concur. Let's hope this isn't the start of a public split. They've come so far, it would be appalling to throw it all away now.

I don't think anyone would resign as an MP due to a difference of opinion within their party. They might resign from the front bench, or even switch to a different party, but I don't think they would completely quit their job and risk everything the way David Davis has. I can't see that even being a contributing factor.

If (as is suspected) he is returned with a massive majority, can Cameron not use this as an indicator that the people are fed up with the Government's policies? A bit like calling a referendum on the 42 day issue?

I suspect that a divergence of opinion within the Shadow Cabinet is part of the reasoning behind this. I concur. Let's hope this isn't the start of a public split. They've come so far, it would be appalling to throw it all away now. No ... Any "spat" is in the minds of the BBC commentators. They wish!!!

Any "spat" is in the minds of the BBC commentators. They wish!!! And in the minds of the Telegraph commentators too.

If (as is suspected) he is returned with a massive majority, can Cameron not use this as an indicator that the people are fed up with the Government's policies? There won't be a by-election if there is no more then one candidate, then Davis would be automatically returned to the HoC. In that case, Cameron could use it as evidence that Gordon Brown doesn't have the guts to defend his security legislation in a neutral arena, even though he insists that most of the population support it. But this is a very dangerous scheme that Davis is following, it can backfire badly on him in a number of ways. I suspect that a significant proportion of his constituents will be annoyed by the prospect of an unnecessary by-election and may decide to vote for his opponent just to spite him. Also, there is no guarantee that the Tory voters in his constituency will support him if Kelvin MacKenzie stands. After all, in the North of England libertarians are in the minority in the Conservative party. The idea of Rupert Murdoch, a multi-billionaire Australian-American citizen, bankrolling the campaign of a charmless, authoritarian newspaperman is nauseating. And if he uses funds from abroad it would also be illegal under the "Political Parties, Elections And Referendums Act, 2000", however, when you own as many British registered companies as Murdoch then that legislation becomes totally ineffective. How typical that a plutocrat like Murdoch should be the sole financier for the campaign of someone who wants to strip us of our civil liberties. I suppose freedom isn't for the little people in his view. My other problem with Murdoch is that he owns so many media outlets and, of course, Sky TV, that I can't see how Davis could get a fair by-election. I know that there is legislation to ensure fair news coverage during an election period, but the Sky News coverage of Davis' campaign has already been extremely negative (before the election period has officially begun) and preventing biased reporting of the election across the whole Murdoch media empire would surely be impossible. MacKenzie is also a "Wireless Group" partner, a company which owns several radio stations like "TalkSport" (a station known for the hang 'em and flog 'em attitude of its hosts). In fact, Jon Gaunt, (one of their presenters) stated that Shami Chakrabarti is the "most dangerous woman in Britain". IMO, these are dangerous times for the libertarian wing of the Conservative party. A defeat for Davis would strengthen the authoritarians in the party and could lead to Cameron failing to fulfill his promises to revoke some of Labour's more repressive legislation should the Tories win the next election. Everyone who values their civil liberties should support Davis in this by-election because we don't want the next government to be dominated by authoritarian Torys.

For anyone who doubts Davis' sincerity regarding the importance of defending our civil liberties note the following: Once the party went into opposition, there were many stories of his short fuse, for example calling Michael Howard late at night and threatening to resign over ID cards. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/7453275.stm Also, a 7/7 attack survivor had this to say about him: I met David Davis, and Nick Clegg when I had the honour of standing beside them to give evidence to the Home Affairs Committee, about this wretched terrorism bill that was voted on yesterday. I was glad and proud that we all said the same thing: we do not defeat terrorism by throwing away what we hold dearest of all, our liberties. We said it again and again. And the comittee agreed. I met Mr Davis again afterwards, and I have to say that before the meeting I was a little wary, because I didn't think the 7/7 inquiry campaign should be used as a political football by the Opposition, because the people who were directly affected that day have all sorts of different political opinions, (obviously) and important matters of terrorism and liberty should be above politics in any case. But Mr Davis was so obviously sincere about his support for the 7/7 inquiry campaign, and then I saw how he lit up and was clearly so passionate about civil liberties and freedom, that after the meeting I walked out with a much lighter heart, because I had seen that this was not political, but personal, and that he really believed it. And that could only be a good thing for Parliament and his party and for all of us who want to preserve freedom and what we stand for and not be cowed or bullied by terrorists or anyone else. http://rachelnorthlondon.blogspot.com/2008/06/david-davis-man-of-honour.html

Saw Davis on the Andrew Marr show this morning. And I have to say he won me over. I now think this is a principled stand by him.

Saw Davis on the Andrew Marr show this morning. And I have to say he won me over. I now think this is a principled stand by him. Excellent news, sir. So do you propose to help his campaign? I have sent a £500 donation and intend to take 2 weeks of holiday time before the by-election so that I can help him campaign in his constituency. Anyone else who wants to help him should ring his HQ on: (01482) 657938 or email him at: conservative@haltemprice.karoo.co.uk There is also a pledge to help his campaign that you can sign which will help to encourage other signatories to take action to support him.

I have sent a £500 donation and .... 'OW MUCH!

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

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