clawsfour

David Davis is a Tory after all

I see single issue candidate David Davis is standing as a Conservative.

I always thought the Conservative Party were a single issue party - self-interest - and so it's nice to have it confirmed.

Real choices, real votes

The Henley by-election is what it is as I've said elsewhere.

People will make up their mind when there are real choices to make. What Labour has to do is to give people more opportunity to make those choices. And to do that we need to make the Tories choose.

James Purnell in a recent speech made this excellent opening point about the Tories.

I remember Tony Blair being asked what John Major could have done between 1994 and 1997 to make it harder to create New Labour. He said ‘He should have made us decide - each week, in Parliament'. The Tories had the advantage of government and they should have used it to test the foundations of New Labour.

The lesson to draw from the vote on 42 days is identical. When Gordon Brown made the Conservatives choose between policy and positioning, they fell apart. David Cameron wanted to defeat the government. Michael Gove and George Osborne were worried they were on the wrong side of the argument. David Davis just wanted to have an argument.

What's interesting about this is that it is not an accident. It happened because they are in an ideological tailspin. And when asked to pick a direction, they pulled in three different ones. The centre could not hold.

Make the Tories say what they choose. Then let the people choose.

Tories win Henley

Coming fifth behind the BNP is not pleasant, and this was the only time Richard McKenzie (Labour's insufferably cheerful candidate) was thrown off his stride during the whole campaign.

However, in the cold light of day, Labour's result was no worse than the by-election defeats in Winchester and Romsey when Tony Blair was 20 points in front. Nearly saving your deposit in a Tory/LibDem private fight when you are 20 points behind doesn't seem quite so bad.

So although most of the media and some Labour MPs will blame this squarely on Gordon Brown, the Henley by-election is pretty meaningless in the real world. It does keep the momentum up for Cameron and his team, which is to their advantage, but not much else has changed. No-one died.

On the other hand, I suspect the heat is rising a little under Nick Clegg, the soon to be short-lived Liberal Democrat Leader. Having made no impact in the short time he has been leader, he threw the whole of the Liberal Democrat by-election machine (compared to the two staff Labour had working on it part-time) at Henley and visited the campaign personally 435 times (well it seemed like that from the press releases the Libs sent out). And lost.

Incidentally, the real reason that the Liberal Democrats were so pleased to reach a non-aggression pact with David Davis before he announced his resignation was not because they supported him over 42 days (official line), or because the Haltemprice by-election is a mad stunt by an ego-maniac (unofficial line), but because they can't afford to fight another by-election this year having spent everything on Henley (Vince Cable line).

Five reasons to vote Labour today

Shamelessly nicked from Richard McKenzie's site here.

Five good reasons to vote Labour today

1 Vote with your principles.

The LibDems always exaggerate their support. They were miles behind the Tories in Henley last time and have no chance of winning despite their dirty tricks. Tactical voting has never worked in Henley and people can safely vote with their principles.

2 Reject LibDem Dirty Tricks.

The by-election has been marked by LibDem smears and personal attacks on the Conservative candidate. Yet the LibDems did a deal even before David Davis’ resignation not to contest the sham by-election caused by the Tory Shadow Home Secretary because they agree with him on cutting back on CCTV cameras and stopping the police holding terrorist suspects longer.

3 Tories unfit to govern.

The Tories are still not fit to form a government. They have no clear policies. David Cameron has still not expelled those Tory MPs and MEPs who have been siphoning off public money to family members.

4 Labour – On your side.

Labour’s Richard McKenzie is on your side and can get things done for local people as he has shown with this week’s climb down by the Environment Agency over the sale of lock-keepers’ cottages on the Thames. Richard is supporting extra investment for local schools and hospitals, longer GP opening hours to benefit patients and more affordable housing for people and families on low-incomes.

5 The LibDems can’t win here.

They were 13,000 votes behind last time and have only got a quarter of the vote in the last three elections here.

David Davis campaign to be launched by Tony Benn

That pretty much tells you all you need to know about this tawdry little affair.

Two swivel-eyed ex-politicians banging on about civil liberties for the pompous asses of the world.

Just tell us which CCTV cameras should come down. Just tell us which of the 500 criminals caught in Oxford last year by CCTV should be let free. Just tell us how many more people you would like the Brighton Nail Bomber to have killed.

And what about the serous crime solved each year - not because thousands of innocent people have their DNA on a database, but because of the thousands of guilty people who are on that same database.

My liberty is not infringed by CCTV cameras. It is not infringed by my DNA being on a national database. It will not be infringed by national identity cards with biometric coding. But it is certainly infringed by unsolved crime.

Tony Benn and David Davis - you deserve each other. Now leave me and my liberty alone.

Labour vote not squeezed in Henley

With the Conservatives once again taking the voters of Henley for granted ("Don't know why you don"t fuck off - we weigh our votes" was the helpful comment of a Conservative activist to Labour candidate Richard McKenzie) the only really interest was probably going to be could the LibDems take enough votes off Labour to make a fight of it. The answer appears to be no and no contest.

The lack of interest by the national media has meant little opportunity for the LbDems to build momentum. Coupled with the spirited campaign being run by Richard McKenzie and Labour agent Malcolm Powers, there is even an outside chance Labour will hold their deposit.

Whilst that would not be a story (and neither would be a Tory win) the lack of progress by the LibDms will probably by the end of the Cleggometer.

Labour not contesting Haltemprice and Howden

Labour have taken the principled decision not to contest the quite pointless by-election called to solve a leadership dispute in the Conservative Party. Good.

Vince Cable (Liberal Democrat) has let slip that his party, on the other hand, are not standing because they are skint.

David Davis should be detained without trial

And for a good deal longer than 42 days.

I am getting increasingly tired of people on the so called liberal left (as well as the Tory right) for the completely pointless arguments about the number of days that suspected criminals may be detained without charge.

According to some seven days is OK. No reason given why that is OK but 42 days is an infringement of civil liberties. Then the Tories vote in favour of 28 days but against 42 days (having previously been in favour of 90 days). Cameron says he will support Davis in his lunatic campaign in the single issue by-election - thus denying the local people the right to vote according to how they feel about other issues. And already people are saying they are in favour of the 42 detention period  but will vote for Davis - thus at a stroke invalidating his whole sorry attempt to rest the leadership from Cameron by-election campaign.

Everyone (including me I admit) appears to be just pulling any number out of the air and saying that is the one which is OK. Indefinite internment - which we did away with in 1975 - I think is a bit illiberal even for me. Four years without trial as in Spain and France? Maybe not.

Canada seven days (apart from foreign nationals - indefinite with six monthly review). Australia seven days. Germany - indefinite with six monthly reviews. Greece - 18 months. Norway - indefinite with reviews.

And so on and so on.

Most countries appear to have much longer periods of detention without trial than we do (not a justification in itself) and most countries allow these periods of detention for any serous offence (any offence in some cases). In all cases the investigation continues until the evidence is fully established. The suspects are questioned after charge. Why not for heaven's sake?

I think the critical thing is not how how is the time between detention and charge, but how long between detention and a hearing before a judge or panel of judges. I also don't see why that hearing has to be a trial of any particular charge. Obviously if a charge has been made all well and good, but if not, why can't the police take a case to the judge and prosecute a case for having for time to hold the defendent. That way it would be an independent judiciary which would have to be persuaded that person A needs to be helf for two more days until the charge of rape can be completed, or 14 days to allow 75 more hard disk to be examined. Or the key thrown away because it's David Davis and we all should be spared his ego.

What the papers say

Daily Telegraph - Tensions with Cameron lay behind Davis resignation...

David Cameron was wavering over opposing the proposals and the shadow home   secretary was in no mood for compromise. "David [Davis] told Cameron in   no uncertain terms that the Tories had to block the policy as it was   completely wrong," said one friend.

Daily Mail - Tories in turmoil..

However, the reaction of most Tory MPs and grandees to Mr Davis's move was furious.

Former deputy prime minister Lord Heseltine said he had given up his chance to influence Tory policy: 'To throw it all away for a by-election - it will prove nothing.'

 

The Times - ...frustrated Cameron

A frustrated David Cameron was facing an unwanted and potentially embarrassing by-election last night after David Davis suddenly quit and derailed the Tory leader’s smooth run of success.

The Scotsman - Tories ridiculed...

THE Tories were ridiculed as a "party in disarray" last night after David Davis, the shadow home secretary, resigned over the new terror laws.

David Davis has got the Tory Leader(?) Cameron spiting blood.

Good - about time the boot was on the other foot.

Tory candidate for Haltemprice and Howden

If David Davis is going to contest this seat as an Independent, maybe the Tories could show their true colours and put up a candidate from this shortlist of one.

As I said earlier, I think the Labour Party should boycott this farce, but maybe a pro-42 day detention candidate could wipe the smug look of Davis/Cameron's faces