The Tories defeat Monster Raving Looney Party in last night's by-election

Blackleaf

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Oct 9, 2004
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The former Shadow Home Secretary David Davis cruised to victory in last night's Haltemprice and Howden by-election.

The Tory quit as an MP last month after Labour - the government - won a vote in the House of Commons to lock terror suspects up for 42 days without charge, something which Davis was opposed to.

He then forced a by-election in the Haltemprice and Howden constituency, but Labour and the Liberal Democrats did not put forward a candidate. Therefore, with the Tories the only major party in the election, they cruised to a win with a 15,355 majority.

In this great democracy ANYONE can run in an election, which often leaves us to enjoy some of the more wacky and bizarre political parties trying to win.

In this by-election, the Tories were up against The Monster Raving Looney Party (whose candidate was known as Mad-Cow Girl), the Church of the Militant Elvis Party, the Miss Great Britain Party and even the Make Politicians History Party!!

The Green Party finished second and the far right National Front finished 4th.


Davis cruises to by-election win




Gemma Garrett, the candidate for the Miss Great Britain Party in last night's election, received 521 votes



Former shadow home secretary David Davis has eased to victory in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election with a 15,355 majority and 72% of the vote.

He quit as an MP in June over the government's plans to detain terror suspects for up to 42 days.

The Tory MP said voters had delivered a "stunning message to the government".

The turnout was 34%, with the Green Party coming second on 1,758 votes and the English Democrats third on 1,714. The Lib Dems and Labour did not stand.

'Ransacked'


Mad-Cow Girl, the candidate for the Official Monster Raving Looney Party, received 412 votes

Mr Davis said: "We have fired a shot across the bows of Gordon Brown's arrogant, arbitrary and authoritarian government."

He said he would return to Westminster on Monday with a mandate "to fight Gordon Brown's vision of Big Brother Britain tooth and nail, to stop 42 days in its tracks, to prevent the disaster of ID cards before it happens, to protect our personal privacy from being ransacked by the ever-intrusive state".


He admitted it was unlikely that Tory leader David Cameron would invite him back onto the party's front bench.

"I took on board that I would lose my shadow cabinet post and probably my shadow cabinet future," he said. "I accept that."

Mr Davis denied that he would become a "single-issue campaigner", but promised to "put a lot of effort" into opposing 42 days' detention.

He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "The trouble with this is, from the beginning, the Westminster village hasn't really understood that someone wants to take a stand on a matter of principle that may have some effect on themselves."

'Vain stunt'

Mr Davis also accused the government of "spectacular cowardice" for not fielding a candidate.

But Home Office minister Tony McNulty called the by-election had been "a vain stunt that became and remains a farce".

He added: "Labour never believed a parliamentary by-election should be held at taxpayers' expense to resolve tensions at the top of the Conservative Party."

The Green Party questioned Mr Davis's stance on some civil liberties issues - including his support for the 28-day limit on holding terror suspects without charge, increased from 14 days in 2005, and his views on capital punishment and gay rights.

Rape law campaigner Jill Saward, who stood as an independent, criticised his opposition to extending the DNA database and CCTV - which she sees as "the very tools the police need to keep us safe".

Out of a record 26 by-election candidates, 23 lost their deposits after failing to attract 5% of the vote.

At the last general election Mr Davis won the seat with a 5,116 majority.

However, the 17,113 votes he polled were fewer than the 22,792 he achieved at the 2005 election, and turnout was also down from 70.2%.

The Lib Dems - who came second in 2005 - chose not to run because they also opposed the government's plans to extend the time limit on holding terrorism suspects.

Labour refused to stand, describing the by-election as a farce and a waste of more than £80,000 of public money.

After the result was declared, Mr Davis said that before he resigned his seat, polls showed 69% of people supported the government on 42 days.
That figure now stood at 39%, he added.

Among those who backed his campaign and attended debates in the constituency were Bob Geldof, Iraq war veteran Col Tim Collins and Labour MP Bob Marshall Andrews.
Other parties who contested the election included the English Democrats and Christian Party.

Conservative David Davis has been re-elected as the MP for Haltemprice and Howden. He won the by-election with a majority of 15,355 votes. Here is the result in full:
  • David Michael Davis - Conservative Party 17,113 votes
  • Shan Oakes - Green Party 1,758
  • Joanne Robinson - English Democrats 1,714
  • Tess Culnane - National Front Britain for the British 544
  • Gemma Dawn Garrett - Miss Great Britain Party 521
  • Jill Saward - Independent 492
  • Mad Cow-Girl - The Official Monster Raving Loony Party 412
  • Walter Edward Sweeney - Independent 238
  • John Nicholson - Independent 162
  • David Craig - Independent 135
  • David Pinder - The New Party 135
  • David Icke - No party listed 110
  • Hamish Howitt - Freedom 4 Choice 91
  • Christopher John Talbot - Socialist Equality Party 84
  • Grace Christine Astley - Independent 77
  • George Hargreaves - Christian Party 76
  • David Laurence Bishop - Church of the Militant Elvis Party 44
  • John Randle Upex - Independent 38
  • Greg Wood - Independent 32
  • Eamonn Fitzpatrick - Independent 31
  • Ronnie Carroll - Make Politicians History 29
  • Thomas Faithful Darwood - Independent 25
  • Christopher Mark Foren - Independent 23
  • Herbert Winford Crossman - Independent 11
  • Tony Farnon - Independent 8
  • Norman Scarth - Independent 8
Turnout 23,911 (34.03%)

news.bbc.co.uk