Maybe I’m just “emotional” because it’s 3.20am and I should be fast asleep. But David Davis’s “victory” - he’s just won 17,113 votes, about 70 per cent - already has a hollow ring. It’s not his fault, poor chap. Where were the other major parties?

He must have felt like a prize fighter, psyched up and oiled up, entering the boxing ring only to discover toddlers and puppies all around him.

True, the Greens did okay, getting 1,758 votes. But most of the 26 candidates were, ahem, “loveable eccentrics” rather than serious politicians.

My view is that if Nick Clegg’s Liberal Democrats hadn’t stepped aside then Labour probably would have put someone up.  And we could have had a proper debate, a proper by-election and - believe it or not - an element of surprise.

At least the turnout, at 35 per cent, is enough for Davis to retain his pride.

July 11, 2008 3:19am in Conservatives, Elections | Comment