2008 Haltemprice and Howden by-election that if elected he would refuse to take the oath of allegiance to the Queen in order to take up his seat. He opted to declare neither a party affiliation nor "Independent", so appeared on the ballot paper with no party label. Icke told the VoteWise website he had "no politics", and David Davis had a "lot he doesn't yet see". Nick Clegg, the leader of the Liberal Democrats, announced that his party would not field a candidate in the by-election as the issue of civil liberties transcended party politics and the Liberal Democrats supported Davis's position on the issue,
Howden to Goole which lies at the opposite side of the River Ouse. The town is served by Howden railway station, which is situated in North Howden and has services to Leeds, Selby, York, Hull and London. Howden is surrounded by largely flat land and in some places marshland. Much of the land surrounding Howden is separated by many drainage dykes. Howden lies within the Parliamentary constituency of Haltemprice and Howden. One of the earliest recorded parts of Howden's history describes King Edgar giving his first wife, Ethelfleda, Howden Manor in 959 AD, the beginnings of a long connection with the