2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election The 2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election was a by-election held in the United Kingdom on 10 July 2008 to elect a new Member of Parliament (MP) for constituency of Haltemprice and Howden. The by-election was triggered by the surprise and controversial resignation from the House of Commons of the sitting MP David Davis on 12 June 2008. Davis stated intention was to spark a wider public debate on the perceived erosion of civil liberties in the UK by recontesting his seat on this single issue platform, launched as the David Davis for Freedom campaign. The
2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election constituency for the Conservatives since its creation in 1997, and previously held the predecessor seat of Boothferry from 1987. The area of the seat, variously covered in the past by parts of Boothferry, Howden, Haltemprice, Howdenshire and East Riding of Yorkshire, has been consistently represented by Conservative MPs since the 1837 general election. Davis's majority fell back to 4.3% in the 2001 general election and the seat became a Liberal Democrat target. However, Davis increased his majority to 10.7% in the 2005 general election. The nature of Davis's resignation resulted in a number of by-election records and unusual occurrences. Most