Harry Stephenson
View a slideshow of the York and Ainsty (South) Puppy Show: York and Ainsty (South) Puppy Show 2009
Foxhound Column
Harry Stephenson
So another season is underway, five years after this Labour government thought they had made us all disappear.
The Labour backbenchers who screamed and campaigned for the Hunting Act 04 get upset at the sight of our gleaming fit horses (some nutters even think riding a horse should be banned..); a red mist forms in front of their eyes when they see our scarlet coats and shiny boots, and when they see the hounds they go into shock mode.
We are still here, and here we must stay.
But not like this; we cannot continue with this ban still in force. Some say leave well alone, and it’s tempting to join that train of thought, but those packs currently being monitored regularly would certainly disagree, and there’s nothing to say those who are not monitored today - won’t be tomorrow.
The problem is that even though we are laying trails, the people who come out monitoring and disrupting proceedings are not worried about animal welfare, they just can’t stand the fact that we are still here. Possibly if we all dressed in shabby old clothes, and rode shaggy Dartmoor ponies, they would be less interested.
But even though we can’t legally hunt at the moment, surely we can still uphold the tradition of the sport we represent by turning out in full splendour. Our livery is, after all, done as a mark of respect to the farmers and landowners who continue to allow us access to their land.
“The only way forward is repeal. But that won’t be handed to us on a plate.
“Some people seem to think that it is a certainty.
“Let me assure you it most certainly is not. We have to work at it, and even then we may not get it.”
Harry Stephenson
For a start, the Tories need a bigger swing than ever before; bigger than when Mrs Thatcher swept to power in 1979 in a landslide victory. That will take some doing, and while I am optimistic that David Cameron will be our next PM, it won’t be as easy for him as people are starting to think.
So let’s imagine the Tories get in, with say a majority of 30 seats. That would be a small workable majority, and it would require - as I said - the biggest swing to the conservatives ever, but it is not impossible…if we work at it.
Some image that - hunting ban over, back to how it was, thank you very much. It isn’t going to be anything like that. The Tories have promised a free vote on repeal. But that’s all. A free vote is just that. It means any MP of any Party can vote anyway they personally choose. There will no party line; no Government whips enforcing the will of the party. It will be up to each MP’s personal choice.
How many PPC’s (Prospective Parliamentary Candidates) are pro hunting. We don’t yet know, but Vote-OK are closest to an answer. There will have to be hundreds of new MPs, all voting for hunting, for us to stand any chance of repeal. How likely is that?
That’s why it is so important to find out who your local candidates are. Are they going to support us if elected? If you don’t find out now, it will be too late after the event. What if you vote Conservative, only to find the man or woman you have voted for is anti-hunting? You have to find out beforehand.
Not all Conservatives will back a repeal. Kate Hoey is Labour, and will of course support the repeal. This is why Vote-OK is so important. They focus support on the PPC’s who will support us, and who have a fighting chance of winning the seat from Labour. Every hunt has a Vote-OK campaigner, and if you don’t help in the run up to the next General Election, you have no business moaning if the free vote for repeal is a failure.
And if it fails, and there is every chance it will, I doubt we would get another shot at it.
Labour may cling to power, which I know sounds doubtful - but the voting system is not fair and biased towards Labour who need far less votes to win power than the Tories. But if they do manage to cling to power, they will certainly close the loopholes in the Hunting Act - and we will be finished.
If you can live with that, sit back and do nothing, as many people are doing.Harry Stephenson