2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election would extend the legal detention of terror suspects without charge to a maximum of 42 days. Explaining his actions, Davis stated he intended to spark a wider public debate about the perceived erosion of civil liberties by the then Labour government, which in the following week was launched as the 'David Davis for Freedom campaign'. Culture Secretary Andy Burnham called on Davis to fund the cost of the by-election to the taxpayer, estimated at £80,000, from his own pocket. Davis had held the seat as a Conservative since its creation in 1997, having previously been MP since 1987 for the
Witney (UK Parliament constituency) Witney (UK Parliament constituency) Witney is a county constituency in Oxfordshire represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first-past-the-post system of election, and was created for the 1983 general election. It is a safe Conservative Party seat. The constituency was represented from 2001-2016 by David Cameron, who was Leader of the Conservative Party from 2005-2016 and Prime Minister from 2010-2016. On 12 September 2016, Cameron resigned as the MP with immediate effect, triggering the 2016 Witney by-election, at which the seat was retained for the