Still cant get used to seeing the name David Davis and the word freedom as in 'more at the David Davis For Freedom Website' doesn't ring true some how. Nice to see you back, see you tomorrow no doubt.

Gosh, that's funny Bob.

Completely off-topic, can you tell me how you came to follow Yorkshire Cricket? I have a good friend who is a fanatical Yorkshire supporter, despite having been born and bred in the Black Country. (He could also be accurately described as "Not New Labour, not Old Labour, just Labour".

Richard, when we were kids we went to Scarborough for our holidays about three years running, and I began following them then. In retrospect, a bit of a glory hunter, I suppose because back then Yorkshire cricket and Surrey were the Manchester United and Arsenal of their day.

Mick, yes, I'm sure we can visit our Welsh friends afterwards and catch up a bit.

You want the entire shadow cabinet there ?I think it is a bit odd for anyone to quit the "shadow" cabinet over an "agreement ? with Party Policy and Dominic Grieve is going further promising to reduce 28 days , so I am bit ambivalent myself.

Furthermore I whilst 42 days is absurd now , we might need more draconian powers in the future whereas I see no justification for the encroachment of surveillance , ID cards and any number of leftist bossy booted-ness. It?s a mystery to me why this Labour administration is so determined to make everyone hate it for so little return .

Meanwhile of infinitely more interest in the approaching armageddon-out-of-here in Glasgow East. I read that Brown might actually go if this one is lost. So I am wondering how many shadow cabinet members will go up and campaign for the Labour Party....

What do you think about Brown?s survival chances and what next ...come on Bob don`t let Hopi be the officer class while you do the grunt , do some thinking.

Funny how their shadow cabinet commitments didn't tie them down during the Crewe and Nantwich campaign, eh?

Actually, whilst I oppose 42 days, ID cards and increased camera surveillance, the public in general do not. In fact I get more bloody requests for cctv cameras than anything else other than getting the Council to clean up dog turds.

I've got a nice crisp tenner that says we win Glasgow East... come and have a go if you think you're hard enough.

Oh no, I forgot, you're skint.

Amazing how poor Newmania has such trouble grasping simple points like: the big guns are out because DD is in trouble. Even Praguetory is massaging expectations downward.

Kelvin Mackenzie pulled out (thankfully) because he realised he could easily win and doesn't really want to be an MP.

Wot u clearly need are more CCTV cameras to stop dogs crapping where they shouldn't! And don't get me going on the environmental consequences of keeping pets; the impact of 4x4s is almost as nothing compared with that of making and transporting all that dog food most of which ends up as exhaled CO2 and turds in Sandwell. Here we go gathering turds in May, turds in May, turds in May - nurse, nurse....

Newmania: ID cards aren't "leftist" they are 'statist'. The Conservatives were in favour of them before they were against them, and Labour was against them before they were in favour of them.

My favourite quote remains:
"...instead of wasting hundreds of millions of pounds on compulsory ID cards as the Tory Right demand, let that money provide thousands more police officers on the beat in our local communities." (Tony Blair, 1995, Brighton)

Absolutely right! Remind me, now... who was it that wanted id cards for football grounds?

Amazing how poor Newmania has such trouble grasping simple points like: the big guns are out because DD is in trouble. Even Praguetory is massaging expectations downward

I think poor Stephen that Bobina was saying the big guns are not out and implying there was a split in the Party . You have an 'amazingly' large prat of yourself
.
Labour matters -Leftist and statist are the same thing .A Conservative Government might be 'authoritarian' at times and certainly takes defence seriously. So I think I know what you mean. These are not issues like tax where there is a direct trade off between freedom to choose and guaranteed state services .This is why I am somewhat confused about the addiction of this administration to control, in this sense . Are they are trying to find ways to reconnect with the small c conservative working class support sheering off to the BNP ?

Bob - I think Labour will win , also think many Labour MP`s will be hoping that it does not . Things are so bad now that anything is better than Brown. Anyway being down to my last Volvo , I will keep my endless wads of crisp ten pound notes in my pocket on this occasion .Its too big a swing and the SNP make no sense to me.

Yes, it was of course that authoritarian Howard who brought in the original ID card scheme. A few, like the Libertarian Alliance, were against it at the time. But I worry that there are few principled defenders of civil liberties in the Tory ranks, as opposed to vacillators like Camoron, & out and out neocons like Gove.

There is the potential for me to agree with much of what a Cameron government does, but he's going to have to hold his nerve & be liberal.

Its amazing how this by-election was all to do with Davies, yet now it seems a Tory Party demonstration of loyalty.

The truth is the Tories do not disagree with ID cards, 42 days, CCTV or any other measure. They are the opposite Party that says what ever is popular. Cameron is a fake, its the Eaton boys day out.

newmania - a Volvo... sorry, I didn't realise things were that bad!

This brave fellow will be lined up with a very odd looking crowd indeed. It will take forever as the votes for each candidate are read out. David will have to practice looking like he actually wants to be there, but we'll all know the truth and be enjoying every cringing minute of it. Having a few friends round thought we'd make a night of it, few jars of the amber nectar and a good laugh.

Its a turbo charged animal actually but only "new " to me.

Notice how they've still got Gideon nicely tucked away in a box somewhere?

Only to be opened in times of a 'black hole' or Conservative General Election victory.

Gary