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
Stroud and Thornbury (UK Parliament constituency) Standish, Upton St Leonards, and Whitminster. Stroud and Thornbury (UK Parliament constituency) Stroud and Thornbury was a county constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elected one Member of Parliament (MP) by the first past the post system of election. The constituency was created for the 1950 general election and abolished for the 1955 general election. The Urban Districts of Nailsworth and Stroud, the Rural Districts of Dursley, Stroud, and Thornbury, and in the Rural District of Gloucester the civil parishes of Arlingham, Brookthorpe, Eastington, Elmore, Frampton-on-Severn, Fretherne with Saul, Frocester, Hardwicke,