by Chris McLaughlin

A BROAD reservoir of “stealth support” for Tory David Davis’ campaign against 42-days detention of terrorist suspects has sprung up among Labour MPs.

Members from across the party’s political spectrum believe the maverick former Shadow Home Secretary, who formally resigned his House Commons seat on Wednesday this week, has touched a popular nerve in his claim that civil liberties have been undermined and face further curtailment.

The soft rebellion – just two backbenchers, Ian Gibson and Bob Marshall-Andrews, had publicly declared support for Mr Davis’ plan to focus the Haltemprice and Howden by-election on the 42 days issue as Tribune went to press – threatens further erosion of Gordon Brown’s authority as Prime Minister.

There are fears that far from being seen by the public as a political stunt – the line that ministers have been wheeled out to repeat – the campaign will strike a chord with voters wary of the increasingly draconian measures taken by the Government to avert terrorists threats.

While many MPs believe the decision not to stand an official Labour candidate against Mr Davis leaves the Government vulnerable to the charge of being unable to defend its own policies, they also believe any candidate would have provided Mr Davis and the Tories with an opponent who would be kicked daily around the hustings, unable to fight on any agenda but civil liberties.

Deputy Labour leader Harriet Harman dismissed Mr Davis’ decision as a bizarre stunt that would cost the taxpayer £80,000 and had more to do with internal Tory Party politics than a genuine public debate on the issues of civil liberties.

Mr Davis has reportedly told Tory supporters that he feared David Cameron would reverse the party’s opposition to 42 days and embrace it if the party were to win the next general election.

Amid an intense backlash over the way the Government’s majority was secured with the support of the Democratic Unionist Party, Jon Trickett, MP for Hemsworth and chair of Tribune, has resigned from Compass following protests at his last-minute decision to vote for the 42-day measure.

The by-election will coincide with Government attempts to bolster its plummeting public support with a raft of announcements to mark the 60th anniversary of the birth of the National Health Service.

Health Secretary Alan Johnson will unveil details over the next two weeks of plans to shift care out of hospitals and closer to people’s homes, although there are fears in the medical community that some of the measures will lead to more privatisation of primary care services.