David Davis is hoping to avoid humiliation today as voters deliver their verdict on his decision to force a by-election on the issue of civil liberties.

The former Shadow Home Secretary resigned his Howden and Haltemprice seat last month, the day after the Government won the Commons vote on pre-charge detention.

His intention to focus national attention on the issue faltered when Labour refused to field a candidate, insisting that the by-election was a stunt.

David Cameron, who tried to prevent Mr Davis from quitting, has barely concealed his anger and declines to say whether he will be given another Shadow Cabinet position.

Questions over his judgement will deepen if, as expected, there is a poor turn-out of the 70,100 voters entitled to vote. Mr Davis won with a majority of 5,116 in 2005 and there was a 70 per cent turn-out.

The size of the constituency - which includes rural East Yorkshire north of the River Humber as well as some of Hull’s western suburbs - means the result of the poll is not expected until 2am.

The absence of a challenge from either Labour or the Liberal Democrats has not deterred a host of other challengers. The by-election has the largest field of any ever held in UK, beating the previous record of 19 in the 1993 Newbury poll.

Joining Mr Davis on stage tonight for the declaration will be more than two dozen other hopefuls, including the current Miss Great Britain, a losing contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest, Mad Cow Girl from the Monster Raving Loonies and Bus Pass Elvis from the Church of the Militant Elvis Party.

Yesterday, East Riding of Yorkshire Council said about 9,500 postal ballot papers had been sent out. And William Hill said they were not taking bets on Mr Davis winning. The bookmaker said Green Party candidate Shan Oakes was the odds-on favourite to come second.

The full list of candidates:

Grace Christine Astley (Ind); 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 (Ind); Herbert Winford Crossman (Ind); Tess Culnane (National Front Britain for the British); Thomas Faithful Darwood (Ind); David Michael Davis (The Conservative Party Candidate); Tony Farnon (Ind); Eamonn Fitzy Fitzpatrick (Ind); Christopher Mark Foren (Ind); Gemma Dawn Garrett (Miss Great Britain Party); George Hargreaves (Christian Party); Hamish Howitt (Freedom 4 Choice); David Icke (no description given); John Nicholson (Ind); Shan Oakes (Green Party); David Pinder (The New Party); Joanne Robinson (English Democrats - Putting England First); Jill Saward (Ind); Norman Scarth (Ind); Walter Edward Sweeney (Ind); Christopher John Talbot (Socialist Equality Party); John Randle Upex (Ind) and Greg Wood (Ind).

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