How UKIP became pawns in a new plan to bring back fox hunting
The hunt is on (possibly): Nigel Farage shaking hands with Surrey hunter Mark Bycroft, who had freely admitted punching a protester in the face, with no warning or provocation, at a hunt meet on December 14, 2013.*
It seems UKIP is again pushing the Conservative Party further into the right-wing of politics.
This time, the subject of fox-hunting is rearing its bloodstained head once again. The first Yr Obdt Srvt heard of it was in an email from Vox Political‘s alleged masters in the Labour Party.
It begins: “Did you hear what Liz Truss – the Tory Environment Secretary – announced was top of her priority list last week?”
“Bringing back fox hunting. That’s right – instead of sorting out the mess they’ve made of our country, the Tories are fixating yet again on overturning the decade-old ban on this brutal bloodsport.
“Let’s make so much noise that the Tories have to leave fox hunting in the dustbin of history. There is so much that the Tories should be doing right now that would make life better for millions of people in our county. Doesn’t it just speak volumes that they’re choosing to obsess over this instead?
“Labour consigned fox hunting to the history books – and that’s where it belongs. Help us keep it there.”
This is followed by a link to a petition against the proposal which also asks the reader to make a donation to Labour. It is a particularly annoying practice of the party at the moment; admittedly, Labour needs cash to campaign, but tricking people into connecting to a donation site by telling them they’re doing something else… that’s not the way forward.
So if anybody has a link to a petition page that doesn’t want your money as well, please get in touch.
That was the story, and it all seemed cut-and-dried, right? Wrong.
Several hours later, a blog article by the ever-engaging John D Turner provided invaluable information about UKIP’s part in this affair.
It seems the Country Land and Business Association (described here as a sort of trade union for the landed establishment – a description that is both apposite and insulting at the same time because these people wouldn’t want to be seen dead in a union) has been lobbying both UKIP and the Tories for the return of foxhunting.
It was later reported that UKIP could benefit from half a million extra votes if the Tories refuse to commit themselves to repealing the Hunting Act, implying that UKIP supports this move already.
That was in August; Elizabeth Truss came out with her announcement a little more than a month later.
This tells us several things:
Firstly, UKIP may be many things but it absolutely is not the party of the “people’s crusade”, or whatever nonsense its representatives were spouting during the European election campaign. It’s pretty much a ‘given’ that Nigel Farage’s hope for the blue collar vote started to evaporate when he revealed UKIP’s tax plan was to give all the money to the extremely rich, and disappeared altogether when the Conservatives announced an even more regressive policy in response.
Secondly, UKIP is quite happy to be the pawn of rich landowners.
Thirdly, the Conservatives are terrified that UKIP may be able to steal away their support, and this means they will copy any UKIP policy in a desperate attempt to be more like UKIP than UKIP. Anyone in the Labour Party who finds this funny should look at the economic policy currently being promoted by Ed Balls, and remember Rachel Reeves’ ‘tougher than the Tories on welfare’ speech, before trying to make political headway on it.
The practical upshot of all this?
In this renewed right-wing attempt to bring back fox-hunting, it seems UKIP have been cast in the role of fat, red-coated, “Tally ho!”-screaming hunters…
… and the Conservatives – how unusual for them! – in the role of the fearful fox.
* Here’s the story. Scroll down the page to the entry for December 27, 2013 (it has the same image as at the top of this article).
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As the late Patrick Moore explained in 2009, fox hunting is very much alive and well, as the hunting bill of 2004 (which is still the most up to date legislation) is full of loopholes
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/programmes/the_daily_politics/7936812.stm
‘The unspeakable in full pursuit of the uneatable’ – Oscar Wilde
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/558/585/956/tell-cameron-not-to-relax-fox-hunting-ban/
43,619 and counting……
The fox hunting law is one of the worst written laws there is. I’d love to go hunting, if I were well enough, but only if it were true drag hunting, with no foxes in sight. Drag hunting proves you can have as much fun, or “sport” without killing foxes. I do worry about how foxes are being killed now, stopping hunting doesn’t stop them being killed…
As for UKIP? I’m wondering if UKIP is a patsy organisation made by the Conservatives to force a massive lurch to the right……
One of the aspects that really wind me up is that this is being put forward by the Tories as “a priority”. Time and time again, for decades, we heard Conservatives who were desperate to kill any ban on hunting with dogs trying to stave off the discussion by saying, “Why do we have to do this NOW? Aren’t there more important things for Parliament to do with its time?”
Now of course, you could make that argument against almost *any* Bill at almost *any* time in history. But isn’t it just so typical of Tory hypocrisy that the moment an opening apparently develops to reverse the ban, it suddenly becomes “top priority”?
from Cameron’s speech at Conference:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-29445596 at 38.24 mins….
“….go to hospital night after night, with a sick child in your arms, knowing that when you get there, there were people who’ll love that child, and care for that child just like it was their own…”