When David Davis, the shadow home secretary, announced his resignation as an MP on 12 June - in order to fight a by-election for his own seat on an issue about which he was in total agreement with his party's line, on which in fact he was his party's line - the media nearly choked with delight. The BBC's political editor, Nick Robinson, called the resignation 'without precedent', and rubbed his hands at the thought of the Tory divisions that must surely lie beneath; only to be told by eager citizen bloggers that there were clear precedents - George Lansbury in 1912, Enoch Powell in 1958 - and that Davis was an incarnation of that forgotten thing: the politician with principles, a man standing up for his beliefs. Never mind that, as it transpired, he would be standing up against Miss Great Britain, campaigning on behalf of 'beautiful people'; a person known as Mad Cow-Girl, campaigning on behalf of the wearers of ridiculous costumes; and an ex-management consultant called Neil, who is running as David.

LRB 3 July 2008 | PDF Download