Showboat flotilla: Geldof backs Davis

David Davis' calling of the first-ever Pyrrhic by-election has won the overblown backing of Bob Geldof:

“You are being asked to decide what kind of people you are and what kind of country you want.

“You are being asked to vote about us and you will probably never be asked to vote on something so profound again.”

“I was told David Davis was out on a limb on this one but it is the right limb to be on.

“It is a limb I am proud to join him on and it's the same limb William Wilberforce clambered out and perched himself on in this very town.

“This is not about the grotesqueness of slavery, but it is about justice, liberty and your rights.”

Forty Two days is a serious issue - as, of course, was the 28 days which Davis happily supported, and the suggestion that the State should have the right to kill convicted criminals, something which Davis believes in. But a parliamentary by-election with no serious opposition is not a way to test public opinion - for how are you supposed to vote if you oppose Conservative policy on other matters, but also stand against 42 Days? If you give your vote to Davis on 42 Days, on that principle, why has he not offered to not vote in any other division?

It's grandstanding, the right debate in the wrong forum. The appearance of Geldof merely adds more sideshows to a terrible circus.

(Satire)

Thom C drops us an email to alert us to Guido Fawkes' blog suddenly embedding music videos (don't worry, we're not going to retaliate by suddenly throwing adverts for Total Sport Film Politics all over the place.

Guido is championing Billy Ruffian, who have written a song in support of David Davis and his 42 day stunt. Sort-of.

Let's not quibble that they seem to have confused John Stuart Mill with Hayley Mills, and instead ponder why the song - sung from Davis' point of view:

Canada can detain for just one day,
And it's two days for Germany and the USA,
Russia has five, Italy has four,
So why do we require 38 more?"

"There's no argument for it, mine's the argument against,
I want the voters to come down off the fence,
I've gambled my job and my political future,
Mr. Brown debate with me on any day that suits you."

Trouble is, of course, that Davis has happily supported - and, indeed, continues to support - 28 days, which is equally random and - a quick tap of the calculator suggests - 24 more than Italy.

The other question, of course, is the awkward question of what effect this has on the people of Haltemprice and Howden. With Davis only campaigning on one issue, either they're going to have to vote for a man with no manifesto commitment to indicate how he might represent their wishes in Parliament on other questions of the day, or else will have to withdraw from anything other than votes on 42 Days. Either way, the constituency is being denied proper representation - is effectively disenfranchising a large swathe of the North-East really the act of a defender of individual liberty?

The comment on Guido's blog includes an entry from Billy Ruffian:

Just to clarify, I wouldn't exactly say we're Davis supporters - we're made up of two wussy liberals and an anarchist.

They steal a Tony Hancock gag:

What about Magna Carta? Did she die in vain?

That's from the Half Hour, Twelve Angry Men, where Hancock exploits the legal system in order to boost his own personal finances by extending the jury deliberations. We'd like to think using the appeal from a man who was interested in justice, but only up until it started to cost him, was intentional. But we're guessing not.