David Davis throws down the gauntlet to Brown and the cabinet

Dave B

"..not the least of which is that his appointment dangerously upsets the balance of the front bench."

Can someone please explain that to me.

Fergus Pickering

James, the media caravan is you. It moves on. You move on. But what on earth is the next story likely to be. Brown's done for. Nothing he does, except perhaps his public suicide after he has gunned down the rest of the cabinet, matters much now, or even at all. He is a figure of fun. What did you think of him yesterday, telling us it just wasn't true that he had paid off the Irishmen? In the summer Davis will be the only story in town. After all, the Obama stuff is nothing now he's seen off Hillary. What else are you going to do but f0llow David Davis?

Kevyn Bodman

The less charitable explanation for the split is that political groupies haven't got a clue about real life and are too concerned with petty matters about who sat next to who at lunch in the canteen, and if you're her friend then you can't be my friend too.
The 'civilians' have got it absolutely right and the people who work 'in and around politics' have spent too much time schmoozing and stroking each other in their little groups and are out of touch with the real concerns and the real issues. Don't you understand that it is MUCH less important to Mr.Davis that he is out of a job next week than that he is getting thse issues of 'the slow strangulation of British freedoms' clearly into the arena of public debate.

Here's a serious question; is any part of the journalists' reaction a result of them not knowing in advance?
They couldn't do their absurd pieces about 'David Davis is 'expected to say' that...'

Look at the blogs.
Look at the way the comments are running.

And make sure this story is not mis-represented. It is NOT just about 42 days, as you all well know. It's about 'the slow strangulation of British freedoms.'

Labour Party or Kelvin MacKenzie,
BRING IT ON.

Cynical Voter

You are hideously out of touch ! The self-regarding world of media and politics is always the same. You are in a bubble-world and have only a vague notion of real people which is why you make such awful politicians manipulated by advertising and marketing men.

Within a year a Cameron Government will be mired in sleaze and spin and hated as much as this one. Davis either wins his point, or he avoids contamination in what is nothing more than Conservative poll highs on the rebound. There is nothing appealing about the Conservative Parliamentary Party apart from their absence from government....it is government we loathe and politicians we despise

Pat

David Davis won the arguement in the HOC but lost to bought votes. He is standing up for the 'civilians' who see a man of honour, conviction and principle. Unlike our PM who yesterday, at his Press Briefing, castigated journalists for not taking terrorism seriously and then minutes later denied it after Quentin Letts reminded him of his disgraceful statement. Conviction Politician? Deranged and with a selective memory more like. The Westminster bubble is so far removed from ordinary people who are sick to death of being controlled by this Government. Hurrah for David Davis. The MSM have misread the mood of the nation and are hideously out of touch.

wonderfulforhisage

"Those who work in or around politics are all agreed that, at best, David Davis is suffering from a rush of blood to the head. All my ‘civilian’ friends, though, are full of praise for him."

If ones understanding of politics is that the overarching
principle is 'Get elected at any price and then follow the focus group' (not necessarily in that order) then DD's resignation is inexplicable.

Maybe the 'civilians' prefer DD's pricipled leadership rather than the unpricipled followership approach of Bliar and his heir(s).

C Powell

You're out of touch. The Tories risk being out of touch: after all, one of the criticisms being made, even by those voting for them, is that we don't really know what they stand for, what they believe in. We know what DD stands for: British freedoms and liberties, the individual not the State. If the Tories don't believe in that, what's the point of them?

Clarence

Can someone here explain something to me please? If Davis hadn't, as a Government whip, rammed the Maastricht Treaty through the House we'd all be *a hell of a lot* freer. The 42-day limit (remember, it's already 28 days anyway) is as nothing compared to rule by those whom we cannot eject. Will Davis apologise for Maastricht in his campaign? If not, he doesn't seem to understand that the Lisbon Treaty makes provision for ID cards and the rest. And we wouldn't, like geese learning how foie gras is made, now be being forced to swallow the Lisbon Treaty if we hadn't already had Maastricht rammed down our throats.

Lee Jakeman

The ego has truly landed.

Damon Lambert

ITs not often I say this, but Polly Toynbee is very good this morning

Ted Tedford

I couldn't agree with the comments here more vigorously. This is a stand against the intrusions of The State that confounds Westminster village group-think. We can argue over whether Mr Davis is positioning for a challenge to Mr Cameron, or whether he is acting out of conviction, but this is knowable only to Mr Davis and God.

But even if Mr Davis does have his eye on a leadership bid in a few months/years, I'd be pleased to see the party elect someone to whom 'leadership' is a verb not a noun.

Bishop Hill

It's the political classes against the rest, isn't it? As you say, the media and politicians are all scratching their heads and wondering why anyone would have voluntarily jumped off the gravy train. The rest of us are scratching our heads and wondering how a man with principles almost ended up leading a major political party.

It's pretty clear that Davis has tapped into a genuine current of feeling. How deep or wide a current is another question though.

Rajesh

In my opinion the problem is that the professional commentators/politicians etc are too concerned with 'the game' of politics rather than the issues. The talk is always about how something will play than the actual impact of a policy. DD is taking a stand about the cumulative impact of numerous policies and therefore is getting support from all of us who feel that what happens is more important than how something looks.

Max Kaye

You're out of touch James. You all need to get out [of the Westminster Village] more.

The public may be in favour of 42 days detention without charge (for 'terrorist' suspects), but DD has cleverly made his campaign the unrelenting curtailment of civil liberties and personal freedom in this country during the past decade.

The public is very much concerned with this - as much, you may be surprised to hear - as with petrol prices. This is reflected in comments spoken and written by 'civilians' in the real world.

The Laughing Cavalier

So, "DD is preparing to ‘empty chair’ the government." When Roy Hattersly didn't turn up for 'Have I got News for You' his seat was taken by a tub of lard. What item should be used to represent Gordon Brown?

GeoffH

It's a bit like Mrs Thatcher's battle to get adopted in a winnable Conservative seat (See 'The Long March to Finchley'.

All those bibulous old farts who thought the party (and running the country) was only fit for people like themselves.

Now we have party cynics and insiders thinking along the same lines towards David Davis.

The man has struck a blow for us all without a care for his own fortunes.

There is no reason at all not to take his stand at face value.

Bob of the Yard

I do not work in Politics but in counter terrorism and I think Davis' move is a political stunt aimed at giving him (and secondly his party) lots of government bashing media attention through the long summer recces.

Alistair S

I think that the general public are impressed by David's actions because they don't question the fundamental illogicality of resigning from the *opposition* front bench over a *government* policy. Superficially, it looks brave and honest. With any deeper analysis it looks suspicious or ill-judged. People who don't follow politics won't generally go any further than the superficial view.

Ted Tedford

Laughing Cavalier: A moral compass?

Civilian

David Davis will go up like the rocket and down like the stick.

Phil.c.

clearly most of the responses we see here are nothing to do with the DD nonsense but simple attempts to slag off Gordon Brown again,it is too easy to forget the work that was being put in by the police and security forces prior to the outrages commited by terrorists in London and elsewhere and just perhaps the people commiting those attacks could have been held in a secure place up if we had then been able to detain them knowing that we had time to question them properly,there is plenty of scope in the new 42 day law to ensure that suspects are monitored sufficiently to protect their rights

Chris Paul - Labour of Love

I'm thinking all the fussing about "bought votes" is rather ridiculous. Whips job is to get people through their lobby and if they only have to butter them up and secure them a diary date to discuss something then that's what they do. There will be no new bridges over the Thames and the DUP will have gotten nothing new or unlikely or serious when it comes to it. Hoon's goons probably speak better weaselish than any of them for starters.

Meanwhile Davis had his own version of the DUP to help him out when he was making the supreme sacrifice. Nick Clogg willing to go through the same lobby as a Section 28, capital punishment conundrum on a stunt.