2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election stated ""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." In its editorial "The Sun" described Davis as deranged. MacKenzie's candidature was soon considered uncertain following an apparently off-the-cuff disparaging remark, when MacKenzie described the nearby city of Kingston upon Hull as "shocking, simply shocking". MacKenzie confirmed on 19 June 2008 that he would not be standing, primarily due to having no financial backing. He urged people to vote instead for Eamonn Fitzpatrick. David Davis has held the
Maidenhead (UK Parliament constituency) Democrat candidate. Notably, the Labour candidate in said election was activist and comedy writer John O'Farrell, whose campaign was the subject of a BBC documentary entitled "Losing My Maidenhead". Due to their strong performance in 2001, the seat was one of several targeted by the Liberal Democrats in 2005 as part of a 'decapitation strategy' to deprive senior Conservatives of their seats; as with similar efforts in Haltemprice and Howden and West Dorset, however, this strategy was unsuccessful, as May retained her seat with almost double her 2001 majority. Since this election, she has held it by majorities of at