Does the David Davis by-election matter?

Davis stood down to force a by-election on the Labour Governments decision to extend pre-trial detention to 42 days. The Liberal Democrats supported his line and did not stand. Labour decided they weren't going to bother standing either. A craven decision which showed their cowardice and their lack of faith in their own position.

Has David Davis succeeded in bringing 42 days to the attention of the general public? The answer is that it's too early to say. However Davis has shown that he has guts and political principles thereby marking him out as unusual in an era of spin and stealing the opponents philosophy.

David Cameron on the other hand has resorted to kniving the poor and sick and thereby showed quite clearly that the Conservatives remain the nasty party that they have always been.

He will no doubt win in England but he won't get in in Scotland or Wales. We don't want Conservatism and Brown and Blairs New Labour/Rosey Toryism has frankly been a complete waste of time.

There is an alternative and the SNP are proving highly credible in Government.

If it's a choice between Scotland and the SNP or Britain under either Blair or Cameron we are going to choose independence. Funnily enough at that point a freed Tory party which is Scottish in its outlook may do better, but it would have to get over it's current addiction to being British.

Mark Lazarowicz must resign over Labour's new internment policy

I must register my complete disgust, firstly with the Labour Government who have now introduced effective internment for modern terrorists by agreeing potential detention periods of up to 42 days and completely ignored the effect of this policy in the past in Northern Ireland.

Secondly, with the BBC's newsnight Scotland program who rather than treat the subject with the respect it deserved preferred to have Gordon Brewer giggle with Brian Monteith and Lorraine Davidson over the fact that the Conservatives David Davis had saw fit to resign and force a by-election.

It is incredible that no genuine Scottish response to this measure could be found. What an insult to the people of Scotland this abysmal half-hearted add-on of a programme is.

However even the antics of the above pale into insignificance behind the total idiocy of my local MP. A Scottish paper reported that: Mark Lazarowicz, the Labour MP for Edinburgh North and Leith, had grave reservations about the proposal and had considered rebelling, but said: "I was given assurances that they do not expect the powers to be used."

Thanks very much Mr Lazarowicz, vote for effective internment even though you apparently don't believe in it but you are foolish enough to believe an utterly desperate Prime Minister!

No legislation is ever passed that is not intended to be used. If Mr Lazarowicz disagreed with the proposal he should have voted against or at the very least abstained. Instead his Government has provided an effective recruiting sergeant for future suicide bombers by ripping up the rule of law. Detention without charge or trial is simply not acceptable in any modern democracy and certainly should not be happening in Scotland.

I respectfully suggest that Mr Lazarowicz should do the decent thing and resign and allow someone to become our MP who is actually fit to do the job and vote on such issues on principle. His actions simply are not good enough and are an embarassment to all the constituents he is supposed to represent.