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The old order changeth

Wednesday, 18th June 2008

The Spectator on David Davis' resignation

Until his astonishing resignation from the Commons last week, the prospect of David Davis as the next Home Secretary was one of the foremost attractions of a new Conservative government. On a range of issues from prison policy and police bureaucracy to managed migration and juvenile crime, Mr Davis’s instincts have long been excellent.

Since David Cameron’s election as party leader in 2005, furthermore, he acted as a check on the occasional excesses of the Tory modernisers. The ‘decontamination of the Tory brand’ has been a necessary — and highly successful — process. When, from time to time, it veered towards folly, Mr Davis often saved the day, calming the nerves of anxious true-blue Conservatives: the Cameroons might want to ‘hug a hoodie’, but Mr Davis joked that he would prefer to ‘mug a hoodie’.

An experienced former minister and a fine chairman of the Public Accounts Committee from 1997 to 2001, he had the makings of an outstanding Home Secretary in a future Cameron administration. Now that he has forced and is contesting the Haltemprice and Howden by-election, there seems little chance that he will fill a great office of state.

While we have always admired Mr Davis’s boldness, it has not served him well — or logically — in this instance. Leave aside the accusations of untamed egoism: most politicians suffer to a greater or lesser degree from this character trait. Our objection is that Mr Davis’s actions make little sense.

The proximate cause of his resignation was the knife-edge vote on extending the maximum period for detaining terror suspects without charge to 42 days. Mr Davis complains that Gordon Brown ‘bribed and bullied MPs into voting to extend the power’. No doubt: but it is hard to take seriously this complaint from a former government whip of the Maastricht era, whose legendary toughness with recalcitrants led his colleague, Gyles Brandreth, to nickname him ‘DD of the SS’. As a whip, Mr Davis, quite rightly, saw it as his task to drive government legislation through the Commons, and the task of the opposition, if defeated in the division lobbies, to seek victory in the next general election so it could seek redress with its own Commons majority (which, of course, Labour did, spectacularly, in 1997).

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RIV

June 20th, 2008 11:52am

No one in their right mind sees David Davis as a sincere principled individual. How does he square his invented reincarnation with previous support for S.28 / opposition to its repeal, and opposition to Civil Partnerships ?
Once he had agreement with the Libs not to stand against him ( they are the main opposition in Haltemprice, not Labour, who poll abysmally) he risks nothing by resigning to stand again ( other than nearly £100,000 wastage of taxpayers' money). The idea that it is '28 days good - 42 days bad' is preposterous - the difference is one of practicality ( fervently requested by the Security Services and the Anti Terrorist Branch of the Police ) not high principle.
Poor David Davis: the council estate boy piqued at not being invited to Lord Snooty's garden parties in Notting Hill. Boo Hoo. If anyone with a serious 'robust law and order policies' agenda ( not on offer from Tories generally, and certainly not from 'Lets entrench the European Convention even more, chaps' Dominic Grieve ) stands David Davis could get a shock - but the Libs and sense of humour- bypass Shami Ch. will probably save him.

Dr. David Spooner

June 20th, 2008 4:21pm

Whatever the virtues (past) or vices (especially present) of David Davis, he has sensed that this is a fast closing-down interregnum in British politics. Someone had to express the sheer urgency of the situation. Within another 2 years, ID cards will be ready for the off, and so will "our" very own autocracy then be firmly in the saddle. For Gordon Brown`s career has perfectly enacted the steps of Nietzsche`s will-to-power (the Blair years) followed in course of time (now) by "the will to become stronger," thence to self-transcendence (2010) objectified in the Leviathan absolute State.
Brown has skilfully manipulated the decaying remnants of the old imperial British bureaucracy, and this was transparent in calling up DUP support to ram through the 42-day law.
The Iraq War, for which GB famously issued "a blank cheque", has been a key part of transforming Westminster political morality, establishing that truth is an error very few successful politicians can afford.

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