I seem to recall a few years ago the Tory front organisation called the Countryside Alliance claiming that if a ban on fox hunting was introduced we would see;
a) All the hunts in the country closing.
b) All the hounds being put down.
c) Thousands of country "folk" losing their jobs
d) The countryside overrun with foxes.
As none of these things have actually happened and hunts seem to be thriving without having to chase foxes, are we to presume the Countryside Alliance are a bunch of liars ?
10 comments:
Its a bit tough calling the CA a Tory front organisation given that Labour's Kate Hoey and Lady Mallalieu (sorry if the spelling's wrong) are (or were) prominent within it. Also bear in mind some Tories including my own MP a certain Ms Widdecombe are strong opponents of hunting.
As for the CA claims they were obviously exaggerated. However as a Lib Dem opposed to the idea of banning things on principle, I would have personally gone with Lembit's middle way alternative.
In 2001 they were the main reason Taunton was gained by the Tories as it was full of CA supporters out leafletting.
Kate Hoey is a pseudo Tory anyway as is mad Mallibu in the Lords.
As for Lembit Cheeky Girl Opik, his Middle Way (licensed sadism) group was exposed as being in cahoots with the CA years ago.
On checking the records it seems 26Lib Dem MPs supported the ban while 18 were against. However in the Lords a majority of Lib Dem peers opposed the ban. This suggests as a party we are commendably more inclined to consider issues on their merits. Both Tory and Labour MPs voted overwhelmingly against or for the ban respectively, confirming class prejudice and tribal loyalties were the main factors influencing their votes.
The foxhunting ban is hardly an outright ban - hunters can still hunt and kill foxes as before, but have to keep their dogs under control and kill the animals humanely.
Obviously this does remove an element of "fun" that hunters previously enjoyed, but it was hardly something we should allow to go unchecked.
And yes - Nick is right - the countryside alliance are a bunch of liars - they don't represent the countryside, their claims have been entirely false, and the new humane form of hunting has actually been quite positive to the industry.
The only people who support "the Hunt" in the countryside are the "horsey set", and that's a vanishingly small minority, even in the most rural area - the rest of us recognise hunts as a nuisence and a distraction from the real issues that affect rural communities.
Well thats because the law is being ignored. I believe 80,000 foxes are killed year of which 20,000 was due to hunting and this number is not much affected by the law which wasted endless Parliamentary time to impose and busy bodying urban Beatrix Potter story on rural England . Is this Liberal ? ....not a word on halal butchery of course only the English have their customs prescribed .
We have our own hugely expensive and idiotic resident Miss Marple and lover of fluffy creatures Norman Baker in Lewes. His assault on half his constituencies freedom have this far gone unnoticed but not for long not to say his left wingery and likely support for Gordon Brown. Oh boy I am looking for ward to his dissembling tightrope walk
What frustrates me about the Liberal party is there are some good ideas around on housing and , to my amazement law and order. On the other hand it does seem to be the natural home of every weird crank in the kingdom as we cans see by the importance attached to Foxes and the utter indifference to the slaughter ( or not ) of un born children. Enthusiastically supporting the ban on smoking with no justification whatsoever and ever eager to sell the birthright and vote of Englishmen and women to a dictatorship of bureaucrats whose machinations are deliberately kept a secret from the electorate ? I can understand being nervous about a good relationship with Europe but to actually applaud the con perpetrated on the people by a ruling elite with grand quasi imperial ambitions .
What , about any of this is Liberal? When do Liberals ever do anything but invent new things to ban and new ways to stick their noses into other peoples business ?
As I say there does appear to be some talent at the top but some of the members are just bizarre and the thought of a hung Parliament hanging on the whim of a few thousand crazies fills me with horror . In Islington everyone had to do as they were told by the single Green Councillor, a bonkers old hippy of course, and just imagine how much worse it would be with PR.
PR, there another thing that is sensless . It would do away with the localism Liberals pretend to prize while they are pursuing internationalist polices on immigration the EU and Constitutional change a that destroy communities ...and I haven’t even got into the endless fudge and misinformation on tax which ...well lets just say it’s a good job it will never happen
I am hoping there are some Liberals who still value community, freedom , low level decision making resent coercion and want political honesty . I thought that was the point ?
PS The hypocracy of Labour MPs demonstrating against their own Parties policies is something that constantly staggers me . We had one demonstrating against the smoking ban that shut the bingo hall in Islington.( my previous abode)...Words fail me
According to independent studies, hunting accounted for just 5% of Fox deaths and was the elast effective method of controlling foxes.
hunting accounted for just 5% of Fox deaths
That is my point its a small part of huge cull anyway .The rights and wrongs of fox hunting are in any case not the point . The right sand wrongs of imposing minority values on other people is the point.
However looking back at what I said "On the other hand it does seem to be the natural home of every weird crank in the kingdom "
Hmmm....ok ok I know what you are thinking
No, we are to assume that Labour are incompetent law makers.
Iain, it was based on the law that Labour enacted that the CA made their claims.
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