David Michael Davis (born 23 December 1948) is a British politician who, on 12 June 2008 announced his resignation as the Conservative Member of Parliament (MP) for Haltemprice and Howden. He resigned on 18 June 2008. The Right Honourable (abbreviated as or ) is an honorific prefix that is traditionally applied to certain people in the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Anglophone Caribbean and in other Commonwealth Realms, and elsewhere. ... In British politics, the Shadow Home Secretary is the person within the shadow cabinet who shadows the Home Secretary; this effectively means scrutinising government policy on home affairs including policing, national security, immigration, the criminal justice system, the prison service, and matters of citizenship. ... is the 310th day of the year (311th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... The Rt Hon. ... For the Canadian ice hockey player, see Dave Cameron. ... Oliver Letwin (born 19 May 1956, Hampstead) is the British Member of Parliament for West Dorset, Chairman of the Policy Review, and Chairman of the Conservative Research Department. ... Dominic Charles Roberts Grieve QC, MP, (born May 24, 1956[1], Lambeth) is a British politician and barrister[2]. He is the Conservative Member of Parliament for Beaconsfield and the Conservative Shadow Home Secretary. ... In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of the Conservative Party is responsible for running the party machine, overseeing Conservative Central Office. ... is the 261st day of the year (262nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year. ... is the 204th day of the year (205th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Also see: 2002 (number). ... Rt. ... Michael Andrew Foster Jude Kerr, 13th Marquess of Lothian, PC QC, MP, (born 7 July 1945), known as Michael Ancram, is a United Kingdom Conservative Party politician. ... Theresa Mary May (born in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, on October 1, 1956 as Theresa Mary Brasier) is a British politician, former chairman of the Conservative Party, and Member of Parliament for Maidenhead. ... Haltemprice and Howden is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Boothferry is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire in England, just north of the River Humber. ... is the 162nd day of the year (163rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about the year 1987. ... is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... Sir Paul Elmore Oliver Bryan (3 August 1913 - 11 October 2004) was a Conservative Party (UK) politician. ... is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... For other uses, see York (disambiguation). ... For other uses, see England (disambiguation). ... The Conservative Party, officially though less commonly known as the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see Alma mater (disambiguation). ... The University of Warwick is a British campus university located on the outskirts of Coventry, West Midlands, England and is regarded as one of the countrys leading universities. ... Affiliations: University of London Website: http://www. ... is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1948 (MCMXLVIII) was a leap year starting on Thursday (link will display the 1948 calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Politics series Politics Portal This box:      A politician is an individual who is a formally recognized and active member of a government, or a person who influences the way a society is governed through an understanding of political power and group dynamics. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... The Conservative Party, officially though less commonly known as the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a political party in the United Kingdom. ... A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a parliament. ... Haltemprice and Howden is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. ... is the 169th day of the year (170th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ...

Following short spells as party chairman, and then shadow deputy prime minister, since 2003 he had held the position of Shadow Home Secretary, under Michael Howard and then David Cameron. In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of the Conservative Party is responsible for running the party machine, overseeing Conservative Central Office. ... In British politics, the Shadow Home Secretary is the person within the shadow cabinet who shadows the Home Secretary; this effectively means scrutinising government policy on home affairs including policing, national security, immigration, the criminal justice system, the prison service, and matters of citizenship. ... The Rt Hon. ... For the Canadian ice hockey player, see Dave Cameron. ...

On 12 June 2008, in a surprise move Davis resigned as Shadow Home Secretary and announced his resignation as an MP, and initiated the David Davis for freedom campaign. is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. ...

Davis had served continuously as an MP in the same seat, from his election in 1987 until this resignation.

Early life

Born to single mother Betty Brown in York, Davis was initially brought up by his grandparents in York. His grandfather Walter Harrison was the son of a wealthy trawlerman and was disinherited after joining the Communist Party. His father, for whom he has never looked, was Welsh.^[1] When his mother married a Polish-Jewish printworker, Ronald Davis, he moved to London. They lived initially in a flat in a "slum" in Wandsworth before moving to a council estate in Tooting, South London. For other uses, see York (disambiguation). ... In modern usage, the term communist party is generally used to identify any political party which has adopted communist ideology. ... Look up Welsh, welsh in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... From the Middle Ages until the Holocaust, Jews were a significant part of the Polish population. ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ... Look up flat in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... , Wandsworth is a town on the south bank of the River Thames in south-west London. ... Public housing describes a form of housing tenure in which the property is owned by a government authority, which may be central or local. ... For the crater on Mars, see Tooting (crater). ... For other uses, see South (disambiguation). ... This article is about the capital of England and the United Kingdom. ...

On leaving school (Bec Grammar School in Tooting), his 'A' Level results were not good enough to secure a university place. Davis worked as an insurance clerk and became a member of the Territorial Army's 21 SAS Regiment in order to earn the money to retake his examinations. On doing so he won a place at Warwick University (B.Sc. Joint Hons Molecular Science/Computer Science 1968-1971). He later studied at London Business School (Master's Degree in Business 1971-1973) and Harvard University (Advanced Management Program 1984-1985). For the community in Florida, see University, Florida. ... The Territorial Army (TA) is the principal and Volunteer reserve force of the British Army, the land armed forces branch of the United Kingdom, and composed mostly of part-time soldiers paid at a similar rate, while engaged on military activities, as their Regular equivalents. ... The 21st Special Air Service Regiment (Artists) (Volunteers) is a special forces regiment of the British Territorial Army. ... University of Warwick Motto: Mens agitat molem Logo © University of Warwick The University of Warwick is a world-class campus university which, despite its name, is located mainly inside the southern boundary of Coventry, England, some 11 km ( 7 miles) from the town of Warwick, the remainder of the campus... Computer science, or computing science, is the study of the theoretical foundations of information and computation and their implementation and application in computer systems. ... Affiliations: University of London Website: http://www. ... Harvard redirects here. ...

Whilst at Warwick University, he was one of the founding members of the Student Radio station, University Radio Warwick, now known as Radio Warwick. Student Radio is radio produced by students based at a university or college. ... Radio Warwick or RaW is the student radio station at the University of Warwick and winner of the 2000 and 2003 BBC Radio 1 Student Radio Association Best Station awards. ...

Davis worked for Tate & Lyle for 17 years rising to become a senior executive having saved a failing subsidiary in Canada.^{[citation needed]} A tin of Lyles Golden Syrup Tate & Lyle PLC is a UK based multinational food manufacturer and is listed on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol TATE. It is a major producer of refined sugar, starches, animal feed and other food ingredients with global operations. ...

Political career

Davis was first elected to Parliament in the 1987 general election as the MP for Boothferry which, in 1997, became the constituency of Haltemprice and Howden. He was a government whip when parliament voted on the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, angering many of the Maastricht rebels on his own right-wing of the party. Davis's progression through the Conservative ranks eventually led to him becoming a Minister of State at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (1994-1997). Margaret Thatcher David Steel Election 1987 Titles The United Kingdom general election of 1987 was held on 11 June 1987 and was the third consecutive victory for the Conservative Party under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher. ... Boothferry is a village in the East Riding of Yorkshire in England, just north of the River Humber. ... Haltemprice and Howden is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... In politics, a whip is a member of a political party in a legislature whose task is to ensure that members of the party attend and vote as the party leadership desires. ... The Maastricht Treaty (formally, the Treaty of European Union, TEU) was signed on February 7, 1992 in Maastricht, Netherlands after final negotiations in December 1991 between the members of the European Community and entered into force on November 1, 1993 during the Delors Commission. ... The Maastricht Rebels were British Members of Parliament (MPs) belonging to the then governing Conservative Party who refused to support the government of John Major in a series of votes in the House of Commons on the issue of the implementation of the Maastricht Treaty (Treaty on European Union) in... In politics, right-wing, the political right, or simply the right, are terms which refer, with no particular precision, to the segment of the political spectrum in opposition to left-wing politics. ... The Foreign and Commonwealth Office, Whitehall, seen from St. ...

In 1999 Davis presented the Parliamentary Control of the Executive Bill to the House of Commons, in which he proposed to transfer ministerial exercise of the Royal Prerogative to the Commons in the following areas: the signing of treaties, the diplomatic recognition of foreign governments; European Union legislation; the appointment of ministers, peers and ambassadors; the establishment of Royal Commissions; the proclamation of Orders-in-Council unless subject to resolutions of the Commons; the exercise of the powers of the executive not made by statute; the declarations of states of emergency; the dissolution of Parliament.[1], [2] Look up bill in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Type Lower House Speaker Michael Martin, (Non-affiliated) since October 23, 2000 Leader Harriet Harman, (Labour) since June 28, 2007 Shadow Leader Theresa May, (Conservative) since May 5, 2005 Members 659 Political groups Labour Party Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Scottish National Party Plaid Cymru Democratic Unionist Party Sinn Féin... The Royal Prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognised in common law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy as belonging to the Crown alone. ... Diplomatic recognition is a political act by which one state acknowledges an act or status of another state or government, thereby according it legitimacy and expressing its intent to bring into force the domestic and international legal consequences of recognition. ... In states that are Commonwealth Realms a Royal Commission is a major government public inquiry into an issue. ... An Order-in-Council is an executive order issued in Commonwealth Realms operating under the Westminster system. ... For other uses, see State of emergency (disambiguation). ... In parliamentary systems, a dissolution of parliament is the dispersal of a legislature at the call of an election. ...

In the following parliament, Davis held the position of Chairman of the House of Commons Public Accounts Committee between 1997 and 2001. In this role he began to build a reputation, and some Conservatives started to mention him as being a potential future leader of the Conservative Party. The Public Accounts Committee (PAC) (strictly, the Committee of Public Accounts) is a select committee of the British House of Commons. ...

Following the resignation of William Hague, he contested the 2001 election for the leadership of the Conservative Party, finishing fourth and being appointed Chairman of the Conservative Party by the eventual winner, Iain Duncan Smith. His most notable action in this post was the suspension of the Monday Club's affiliation with the Conservative Party because of its perceived inflammatory views on race. William Jefferson Hague (born 26 March 1961) is a British politician, the Member of Parliament for Richmond, North Yorkshire, former leader of the Conservative Party, and current Conservative Shadow Foreign Secretary. ... The 2001 Conservative leadership election was held after the United Kingdom Conservative Party failed to make inroads into the Labour governments lead in the 2001 general election. ... In the United Kingdom, the Chairman of the Conservative Party is responsible for running the party machine, overseeing Conservative Central Office. ... Rt. ... The Monday Club is a right-wing pressure-group in Britain described by the BBC as a bastion on the Tory hard right[1]. It was formed at the time of Harold Macmillans Winds of Change speech made at Cape Town, South Africa in which Macmillan stated that the...

In 2002, Duncan Smith replaced Davis with Theresa May. Davis was on a family holiday in Florida at the time and the manner of his sacking ensured a significant amount of sympathy among Conservative Party members. His new position was to shadow the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott as Shadow Secretary of State for the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. This was largely viewed as a demotion. When Duncan Smith was removed as Conservative leader by a vote of no confidence, Davis surprised commentators by quickly announcing that he would not stand for the leadership. He lent his support to Michael Howard who was not challenged allowing an uncontested election to take place. He was rewarded for this with a new role as Shadow Home Secretary. Theresa Mary May (born in Eastbourne, Sussex, England, on October 1, 1956 as Theresa Mary Brasier) is a British politician, former chairman of the Conservative Party, and Member of Parliament for Maidenhead. ... This article is about the U.S. State of Florida. ... Under its uncodified constitution, the United Kingdom possesses no formal permanent office of Deputy Prime Minister. ... For other persons named John Prescott, see John Prescott (disambiguation). ... A Motion of No Confidence, also called Motion of Non Confidence is a parliamentary motion traditionally put before a parliament by the opposition in the hope of defeating or embarrassing a government. ... The Rt Hon. ... The Secretary of State for the Home Department (the Home Secretary) is the chief United Kingdom government minister responsible for law and order in England and Wales; his or her remit includes policing, the criminal justice system, the prison service, internal security, and matters of citizenship and immigration. ...

In the role of Shadow Home Secretary, he successfully gained the 'scalp' of the then Immigration Minister Beverley Hughes, who was forced to resign in the wake of allegations that checks on Eastern European migrants had been waived, and for misleading the House of Commons. Davis was praised for his role in holding her to account at that time. Rt. ...

More recently Davis has turned the Conservatives away from the Labour Party's plan to reintroduce^[2] Identity cards citing spiralling costs and libertarian issues. He turned initial Conservative support into one of concern and abstention, making the final change to one of opposition much easier. Davis believes that once the true cost and unreliability of the ID card scheme is explained to the general public, they will turn against it. Davis had maintained the Conservative's pledge to curb the moral degradation that he and other front benchers have declared part and parcel of "Blair's Britain". German identity document sample An identity document is a piece of documentation designed to prove the identity of the person carrying it. ... See also Libertarianism and Libertarian Party Libertarian,is a term for person who has made a conscious and principled commitment, evidenced by a statement or Pledge, to forswear violating others rights and usually living in voluntary communities: thus in law no longer subject to government supervision. ...

Davis is perceived to be socially conservative. He expressed support for the restoration of the death penalty as recently as November 2003. He is highly sceptical of the political expansion of the European Union. He has never voted in favour of gay rights, having voted against the repeal of Section 28 (which banned local government from promoting homosexual relationships in schools), as well as voting against the equalisation of the age of consent and against gay adoption. However, he has consistently attracted support on a personal level from all sections of the party. Thus, when the gay Conservative MP Michael Brown was pictured on holiday with a 20-year-old man in 1994 (when the age of consent was still 21), Davis drove to Brown's home to offer his help. Social conservatism generally refers to a political ideology or personal belief system that advocates the conservation or resurrection of what one, or ones community, considers to be traditional morality and social structure. ... The gay rights movement is a collection of loosely aligned civil rights groups, human rights groups, support groups and political activists seeking acceptance, tolerance and equality for non-heterosexual, (homosexual, bisexual), and transgender people - despite the fact that it is typically referred to as the gay rights movement, members also... Sir Ian McKellen with Michael Cashman at the 1988 Gay Rights March on Manchester in protest against Section 28. ... Michael Russell Brown (b. ...

At the 2005 General Election, he was targeted by the Liberal Democrats as part of their "decapitation plan", an attempt to undermine the Conservatives in Parliament by defeating their leading members. The targeting failed as Davis trebled his majority to over 5,000 votes (5,116, up from 1,903), his share of the votes increasing by 4.3%. The United Kingdom general election of 2005 was held on Thursday, 5 May 2005. ... The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, is a liberal political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1988 by the merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party; the two parties had already been in an alliance for seven years prior to this, since not long...

His seat Haltemprice and Howden is in part the seat that was occupied by the fictional Conservative MP Alan B'Stard in the 1980s ITV sitcom The New Statesman. Haltemprice and Howden is a constituency represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. ... For other uses, see ITV (disambiguation). ... A sitcom or situation comedy is a genre of comedy performance originally devised for radio but today typically found on television. ... The New Statesman was an award-winning British sitcom of the late 1980s and early 1990s satirising the Conservative government of the time. ...

2005 leadership contest

Davis was initially the front runner in the 2005 Conservative leadership contest but after a poorly received speech at that year's Conservative Party Conference his campaign was seen to lose momentum. David Cameron, the eventual winner of the contest. ... This article is about momentum in physics. ...

In the first ballot of Conservative MPs on 18 October 2005, Davis came top with 62 votes. As this was less than the number of his declared supporters, it became clear that the Davis bid was losing momentum. The elimination of former Chancellor Kenneth Clarke left the bookmakers' favourite, David Cameron, without a rival on the centre of the party. In the second ballot, held two days later on 20 October 2005, Cameron polled 90 votes, David Davis 57 votes and Liam Fox was eliminated with 51 votes^[3] so David Davis went through to the next stage with David Cameron. is the 291st day of the year (292nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... This article is about Kenneth Clarke, the English politician. ... For the Canadian ice hockey player, see Dave Cameron. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

In spite of a strong performance in a BBC Question Time head-to-head debate in the final stage of the leadership contest, Davis could not match his rival's general popularity. Conservative party members voted to elect Cameron the new Conservative leader, Davis losing by a margin of 64,398 votes to 134,446 votes. Cameron chose to re-appoint his rival as Shadow Home Secretary following his victory. Question Time is a topical debate television programme in the United Kingdom, based on Any Questions?. It is currently shown on BBC One at 22:35 on Thursdays, and typically features politicians from the three major political parties and other public figures who answer questions put to them by the...

2008 Civil liberties campaign

Main article: David Davis for freedom campaign

On 12 June 2008, Davis resigned from the Shadow Cabinet and announced his resignation as an MP, in order to force a by-election, and cause a wider debate on the single issue of erosion of civil liberties. He is to stand as the Conservative Party candidate for his current seat in the subsequent by-election^[4][5][6]. The announcement came a day after the narrow passing of a parliamentary vote to extend the limit on the period of detention of terror suspects without charge in England and Wales, from 28 to 42 days. Image File history File links WikiNews-Logo. ... Wikinews is a free-content news source and a project of the Wikimedia Foundation. ... is the 163rd day of the year (164th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. ... Members of Parliament sitting in the House of Commons in the United Kingdom are technically forbidden to resign. ... Civil liberties is the name given to freedoms that protect the individual from government. ...

Notes

This article refers to the news department of the British Broadcasting Corporation, for the BBC News Channel see BBC News (TV channel). ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... is the 293rd day of the year (294th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

• http://www.hm-treasury.gov.uk/newsroom_and_speeches/press/2008/press_63_08.cfm

External links

• David Davis official website
• Conservative Party – Rt Hon David Davis MP official biography
• Guardian Unlimited Politics – Ask Aristotle: David Davis MP
• They Work For You – David Davis MP
• Open Rights Group – David Davis MP
• The Public Whip – David Davis MP voting record
• BBC News – Profile: David Davis 17 October 2002
• BBC News – Profile: David Davis 23 July 2002
• Open Directory Project – David Davis directory category
• David Davis for Freedom Official Terapad Website of 2008 Campaign for British Civil Liberties and Freedom.
• Full text of 2005 conference speech