Hunt supporters push on with plans to scrap the ban

Campaigners map out ways to overcome SNP opposition which forced Cameron to back down

SUPPORTERS of fox hunting have received a boost after it emerged that the Government is determined to hold a vote on scrapping the ban before the next election. Sources inside the Environment Department told The Sunday

Telegraph that ministers will stick to a Tory manifesto promise to give MPs a free vote. Campaigners hope a fresh deal with the SNP could secure enough votes to bring about the change.

THERESA MAY’s government is pushing for a new vote to repeal the ban on fox hunting despite the SNP’s opposition and David Cameron’s failed attempt to enact the change.

Andrea Leadsom, the Environment Secretary, wants to implement a free vote before the next election, sources told The Sunday Telegraph.

However, campaigners remain pessimistic that a free vote will be won, saying the odds of victory in the current parliament are about 100/1.

The ban on hunting foxes and other wild mammals with dogs was implemented in the Hunting Act 2004, legislation Tony Blair, the then prime minister, has since said he regrets.

The Tory election manifesto last year pledged to offer a free vote on repealing the law, meaning MPs would not be whipped on party lines, in a promise to “support countryside pursuits”.

While Mrs Leadsom demanded a vote during her brief campaign for the leadership and Mrs May backs repealing the ban, it was thought the new administration would ditch the promise.

But a source at the Environment Department said: “We stand by our manifesto commitment to give Parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act on a free vote, with a government bill in government time.”

Mr Cameron’s attempts to secure the change were thwarted after winning a slim Tory majority last year.

With Labour and the Liberal Democrats against the move and a handful of Tory rebels, Mr Cameron argued the SNP should not vote as the change would only impact England and Wales. But the SNP vowed to block the move – forcing him to pull the vote.

With parliamentary numbers the same despite a new PM, campaigners are mapping out two possible ways to secure victory. The first would see the government strengthen its English votes for English laws [Evel] changes to bar Scottish MPs from voting. This would constitute a radical change in how Parliament works, with some fearing it could undermine the UK.

The second is if the SNP has a change of heart. The party pledged to review the law which bans hunting in Scotland during the row last summer and a backroom deal always remains a possibility.

Tim Bonner, chief executive of the Countryside Alliance, said: “There is an ingrained political prejudice which means that resolving this issue will remain difficult. We will, however, work with the Government to achieve just that.”

The Labour government’s war on fox hunting was a pernicious assault on the countryside dressed up as concern about animal welfare. Happily, there are still some politicians committed to seeing the ban reversed. Sources in the Environment Department tell us that Andrea Leadsom wants to see a free vote on the subject before the next election. We hope that she succeeds. David Cameron tried and failed due to SNP opposition. So the fight would be a tough one, but a noble one for sure.

For some Conservatives, it must feel as if several Christmases have come at once. Theresa May has assured the country that Brexit means Brexit, that she wants tougher controls on immigration, fracking is to be encouraged and grammar schools will return in greater numbers. Opposition will be great to all of these and the Prime Minister will have to fight hard for her priorities. She has arguably shown her mettle simply by producing such a long list of policies. Other prime ministers might have been tempted to pursue a wishy-washy consensus. More traditionalist Tories bemoan that having low ambitions has always meant, in practice, that nothing gets done at all.

We hope that Mrs May adds the return of fox hunting to her list of priorities. Tony Blair cooked up what he called “a masterly British compromise” which left hunting “banned and not quite banned at the same time”. The compromise is a farce, and its only good side is that attendance at drag hunts has flourished in protest. Victory in the EU referendum is a chance to sweep away politically correct shibboleths. The hunting ban was one of its most absurd examples, and we cannot wait to see the back of it.