Kelvin MacKenzie of Commons in order to fight a by-election as a protest against the Labour government's plans for 42-day detention without charge for terrorist suspects, MacKenzie announced that he was likely to contest the election on a pro-42-day detention platform, stating: "I have been associated with "The Sun" for 30 years. "The Sun" is very, very hostile to David Davis because of his 28 day stance and "The Sun" has always been very up for 42 days and perhaps even 420 days". Off-camera, before a BBC interview, MacKenzie referred to Hull, which the Haltemprice and Howden constituency borders, as "an absolute
2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election unusual circumstances, the election broke several records, including the most candidates running in a UK parliamentary by-election — 26, the largest number of independents, the largest number of people losing their deposits and the best by-election results up to that point for the Green Party and English Democrats. While single issue by-elections such as this one were not unprecedented, they were rare in modern political times. As per election law, other candidates were free to stand on their chosen manifesto and not necessarily obliged to oppose or support Davis. Davis's use of a by-election in this way attracted both praise