Via Guido, I see that Miss Great Britain is considering switching to the Tories.Having taken 521 votes off David Davis in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election, Miss Great Britain Gemma Garrett is considering switching political allegiances to the Tories.'Gemma has become addicted to the political adrenaline rush but she is tired of being a fringe candidate,' said a friend.'Having set up the Miss Great Britain Party, she now believes she could achieve her political aims through the modern Conservative Party and is now considering applying to the their candidates' list.'So, here's someone who is happy to abandon her associates and her principles in order to seek more personal political power.Yep, she'll fit right in at the House of Commons......

People asking what did David Davis achieve with his "Freedom By-Election" might be surprised to discover that he appears to have won over a convert. The news is that Miss Great Britain, Gemma Garrett, is switching political allegiances to the Tories. Excellent news, it was not all in vain after all. She will make a glamorous addition to the candidates list. Politics is not exclusively "showbiz for ugly people" after...

Just as Boozy Droop Lembit Opik loses his bottle bronze Cheeky Girl Gabriela it seems that David Davis' Quixote Quest may have found his bottle blonde. Relief for sultry natural brunette Shami from the wagging tongues of the lobby.Davis may it seems have recruited a new shoulder to cry on in the shape of Gemma Garrett. Demonstrating that while the circus may have left sleepy Haltemprice and Howden it could be the Gemma show in a town near you ... very soon. Hat tip: Guf via Kezia's Soap Box.Meanwhile it seems that Glasgow East candidate for the SNP (right) is such a bible bashing, bishop bashing, barmy Baptist, separatist fundie, colleague bullying, misogynist misery - allegedly as appropriate natch - that he is kept at a minimum of barge poll distance by beauties red, white and blue. The...

ToryDiary: Eric Pickles for Party Chairman Roy Wilson on Platform: Will the world as we know it end with an extra 14 days? PlayPolitical video: Immigrants are God's children and have enriched America says John McCain ad Today's must-read: "Cameron's third great moment" We strongly commend a piece by Jonathan Oliver and Isabel Oakeshott in The Sunday Times that sees David Cameron's 'right-and-wrong' speech as the "third great moment" of his leadership:"Cameron’s meteoric political rise has been defined by his speeches. A barnstormer in Blackpool in 2005 propelled him to the leadership, and another in the same town last year forced Gordon Brown to think again about calling a snap election. Cameron’s allies believe last week’s “moral leadership”...

Well, was it worth it? Did David Davis throw away his future ministerial career for nothing? Did 72% of the vote on a 35% turnout represent a victory for freedom that will turn the tide of the Big Brother state, or will it all be swiftly forgotten? What say the entrails?First of all, Davis did not prove that the British people are wide awake about their loss of civil liberties, and angry enough to do something about it. But he did demonstrate that they are not quite so asleep as is often supposed. Some of the debate that he called for did take place, but it was all rather one sided. Or rather, the two sides of the debate were not really arguing against each other. On his side were bloggers, campaigners, maverick MPs, celebrities. Their argument was that he was right on this issue,...

Well what a waste of time that was.  David Davis is claiming it as a great victory thanks to his 72% of the vote, but as he had no serious challengers then what did he expect.  I also remain unconvinced that he has changed anyone’s mind about the 42 day issue or made it significantly more high profile than it would have been.  He has raised his own profile, but that’s about it.  Many people who voted for him seemed to do so on the basis that he was either a Conservative or that he was a good constituency MP, not on the 42 day issue. There are some websites that have tried to analyse the placings of the other parties, and just a quick look around the other party websites shows how desperately they want to sell their respective results as the best they have ever had.  The...

I have the fortune (or not) to be in possession of  leaflets from 17 of the 25/26 candidates in the Haltemprice and Howden by-election. And, may I say, there are some real corkers! I'm going to ignore the Official Monster Raving Loony Party, the Green Party, Gemma Garrett (Miss Great Britain Party and a regular on the by-election circuit) and Jill Saward, the anti-rape campaigner and Grace Astley...

The early morning news - as widely expected, Tories win Henley, John Howell (Conservative): 19,796 (57%, +3%) It was considered one of their safest seats but the shock news is that Labour came fifth behind the LibDems, Green party and even the BNP. As predicted by the pollsters Labour lost their deposit - Richard McKenzie (Labour): 1,066 (3%, -12%) Cameron hails by-election victory - of course David Cameron is crowing. The Tories have wiped the floor with Labour. Gordon Brown is burying himself in an ever deeper hole. However seeing John Howell make his thank you speach with a man dressed as a banana next to him just shows how comical some of UK's election are becoming.The next by-election, 10th July 2008 is the farcical Haltemprice and Howden by-election.The acting returning officer...

It was David Davis's stated aim, in subjecting himself to the voters of Haltemprice and Howden, to lead a wide-ranging democratic debate on the state of liberty in modern Britain. The governing party might have declined his invitation, but if choice is one of the measures of democracy then this forthcoming by-election will be the most democratic in history, with a field of 26 candidates easily surpassing the previous record, 19, set in Newbury in 1993, and more than double the mere 12 candidates who stood in this week's Henley poll. And what a very strange bunch they are, a mixture of extremists, doomed idealists, publicity-seekers and single-issue campaigners. Yet beneath their disparate (and unlikely) platforms a common theme emerges, a dissatisfaction with the status quo combined...

26 candidates will contest the by-election sparked by the resignation of Tory David Davis as an MP: * Grace Christine Astley - Independent * David Laurence Bishop - Church of the Militant Elvis Party * Ronnie Carroll - Make Politicians History * Mad Cow-Girl - The Official Monster Raving Loony Party * David Craig - Independent * Herbert Winford Crossman - Independent * Tess Culnane - National Front Britain for the British * Thomas Faithful Darwood - Independent * David Michael Davis - Conservative * Tony Farnon - Independent * Eamonn “Fitzy” Fitzpatrick - Independent * Christopher Mark Foren - Independent * Gemma Dawn Garrett - Miss Great Britain Party * George Hargreaves - Christian Party * Hamish Howitt - Freedom 4 Choice * David Icke - No party listed * John Nicholson...

It appears that David Davis, in embarking on his by-election ego trip, is inconveniencing royalty too. Far more amusing than the fact that the Queen may have to put off going to Hull for a bit, though, is the list of those "who have indicated that they are planning to stand" in the July 10 run-off, according to the BBC:David Davis - Conservative Eamonn Fitzpatrick - Independent Gemma Garrett - Independent George Georgiou - Generalist Party Neil Glass - Independent Hamish Howitt - Independent The Mad Cow Girl - Official Monster Raving Loony Party ("Why don't decent citizens have a "Human Right" not to be assaulted, blown up or harassed, when the criminals can scream human rights if their handcuffs hurt?")The BBC isn't ruling out any further raving loonies entering the fray,...

In typical swash-buckling style, Kelvin MacKenzie confirms in the Sun today that he is not standing at the Haltemprice and Howden by-election. Jonathan Calder carries a quote from the Birmingham Post which lists a number of minor candidates who are likely to be stand: Eamonn Fitzpatrick, Northampton stall holder endorsed by Kelvin MacKenzie. Miss Great Britain Gemma Garrett Neil Glass political...

Labour and the Liberal Democrats may not be standing, but there could still be a colourful list of candidates on the ballot paper at Haltemprice & Howden.The Birmingham Post reports:Earlier this week, stallholder Eamonn Fitzpatrick, 58, from Northampton, said he would show rival candidates “what politics is all about” by contesting the seat.Miss Great Britain Gemma Garrett has also announced her interest, asking whether Mr Davis was “a little crazy” to give up his seat for something she described as “a little bit trivial”.Another potential candidate is the political writer Neil Glass, who has promised to donate half his MP’s salary to charity if elected.Blackpool pub landlord Hamish Howitt, 55, who is an anti-smoking ban campaigner, is promising to stand up for working...

David Cornock draws our attention to this piece in today's Daily Telegraph:After the candidacy of Miss Great Britain, Gemma Garrett, in Crewe and Nantwich, there’ll be a double dose of glamour at the Henley by-election.The new Miss Great Britain Party is taking the bizarre step of fielding two beauty queens as rival candidates: a blonde, Amanda Harrington, and a brunette, Louise Cole.“Our attractive candidates will stand out in a contest where every one of the major parties has chosen a man,” opines party leader Robert de Keyser.If ex-Henley MPs Michael Heseltine and Boris Johnson are anything to go by, the blonde starts with a distinct advantage.Can it be true that there is now in existence a 'Miss Great Britain Party' whose sole purpose is to field beauty queens in by-elections?...

    Dear All,   The result in the Crewe & Nantwich by-election was: Conservative 20,539 (49.5%, +16.9%)Labour 12,679 (30.6%, -18.2%)Liberal Democrat 6,040 (14.6%, -4.0%)UKIP 922 (2.2%)Green 359 (0.9%)English Democrats 275 (0.7%)Monster Raving Loony Party 236 (0.6%)Mark Walklake 217 (0.5%)Cut Tax on Petrol and Diesel 118 (0.3%)Gemma Garrett 113 (0.3%) 58.2% turnout17.6% swing Labour to Conservative7.1% swing Labour to Liberal Democrats Many thanks to everyone who helped. Our campaign was a magnificent effort, with a superb candidate in Elizabeth and only a very short campaign in which to put our case. We can be very proud of Elizabeth, our campaign and the inspiration provided by Nick Clegg In previous by-elections where we've been main challengers, the party in third place has...

Picture - Miss Great Britain, prettier than the train picture I was going to stick up to represent Crewe & Nantwich. Despite temporarily loosing the data on 8000 voters in Crewe and Nantwich (the person who received them deleted them as soon as it was spotted), it looks like the Tories are cruising to power in Crewe & Nantwich. Paddy Power – the betting company has paid out already on a Conservative win. The loss of data is important; it matters greatly if it’s your name on that list that has been sent to some random journalist. And is a good fashioned kick up the butt for Tories who should never be complacent or forget that we the people employ them. However it’s probably not as annoying as a Labour Canvasser phoning you in the middle off the night claiming to be a Tory...

The Crewe and Nantwiche by-election is exciting media interest not least because of Labour's ultra-negative "anti-toff" campaign. Coming on the heels of disastrous local election results in one of the safer Labour seats, this single constituency has taken on national significance, frankly well beyond that which it would normally merit. No disrespect like, but Nantwiche High Street does not normally get flooded with MPs of all parties during an election campaign - and it wont be again for some time, so "enjoy" it while it lasts folks.The New Labour government is beset with woes and can seemingly do no right. The hapless Brown is so discredited that Labour's by-election candidate, Tamsin Dunwoody, has refused to endorse him and he has been notable by his absence from the campaign. The...

Crewe and Nantwich links. Labour say Don't be conned by Tory Boy and again on their blog with a bit of a start to a You Tube presence.The Tories want you to Send a Message to Gordon Brown and sadly the Lib Dems don't have much traction though UKIP's Nattrass may surprise, especially as there is no branded candidate from the far right. Gemma Garrett could be one of several deposit losers. The Greens are fielding a Transport Expert, though not quite from the same cloth as Gwyneth.The usual independently minded by-elections blog coverage doesn't seem to have recovered from the Ealing Southall/Sedgefield double whammy back in the good old days when Tories were always third.The by-election wiki lists all eleven runners and riders (above).LoL site feed...

I quote:A Belfast beauty Queen is set to fight a by-election in a bid to "glamorise" the House of Commons.Gemma Garrett, who is the current Miss Great Britain, is standing in the safe Labour seat of Crewe and Nantwich.We shall...

Following the death last month of veteran Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody, the by-election in her old constituency will be held in a couple of weeks. It is likely to be a close-fought contest.One of the candidates is apparently Miss Great Britain. The 26-year-old, Gemma Garrett, comes from Belfast.Er, then why is she Miss Great Britain?...