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JuneWhy are we picketing the Defra Meeting? 1. To emphasise our demands that the consultation process MUST be public and open. 2. To emphasise our concerns that the consultation is, in fact, a sham and that the Government will bow to its backbenchers. 3. To emphasise our determination to oppose an unwarranted attack on our way of life and livelihoods. |
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27 April Today's Telegraph carries the story of a new 'militant' hunt group calling itself 'The Real Countryside Alliance'. C.A.N. welcomes any new initiative that has the future of our sports as its aim. We also believe that all our efforts can be enhanced and made more effective if there is communication and co-operation between allies. We hope the organisers of the new group will be in touch.
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7 April In an article in the Sunday Express today, entitled 'Blair regrets letting the fox out of the box as the rural rebels declare all-out war' (not available on-line), C.A.N. gave a few 'hints' of its strategy. Members will receive more detailed information as soon as possible. It outlined the three 'planks' of the campaign: public demonstrations, some of a 'slightly naughty' nature; the political process; and our plans to target anti-hunt MPs in their constituencies. The last is probably the most important. Between the first two, we can almost certainly stop a hunting bill from getting through this side of the next election - although it won't be easy! But AFTER the next election, the situation will be FAR more difficult if Tony Blair retains a good sized majority. C.A.N. is NOT party political - but we do know who our friends are - something that seems to constantly escape the C.A. Conservative and LibDem MPs who would vote for a ban on hunting may well be targeted too, but our main thrust will be to reduce Tony Blair's majority considerably. Anti-hunt MPs must recognise that their support for the anti-hunt movement will come at a price. There are few constituencies where the hunting issue will carry much weight with voters, who are generally far more interested in local issues. Look back to the last election and the success of Dr. Richard Taylor who took Wyre Forest from Labour MP David Lock at the last election - by campaigning for Kidderminster Hospital. Almost every constituency will have its own 'local issue'. General Election result, June 2001Kidderminster Hosp gain
Electorate 72,152; Turnout 68.0%; Majority 17,630 (35.9%)
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21 March The Government's announcement of another 'consultation period' lasting no more than six months before legislating on the issue of hunting with hounds has taken all the pundits by surprise. A bill (of some sort) will be announced in the Queen's Speech and Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael threatened to use the Parliament Act to force through a Bill if it was opposed in the Lords despite angry Tory protests in the Commons. But he stressed to MPs that he wanted to proceed on the basis of searching for "common ground" between pro and anti-hunt supporters, with "conflict tempered by tolerance". This is undoubtedly an interesting development. The chance of our opponents showing any 'tolerance' to anything that would be acceptable to us is fairly minimal, and we have no doubt that Tony Banks is presently planning an inhumane end for Alun Michael! It indicates that the Government is at least as worried about incurring the wrath of the country sports lobby as it is about its own backbenchers. In its latest communication to grass e-route members, the C.A.'s Richard Burge said: "No-one should read this moment as either one of success or failure. It is neither. It is simply a staging post on a long road, the outcome of which we are all resolved must be a lasting and secure peace for hunting as part of a diverse and tolerant countryside. We still have a dangerous and perilous path to tread, and our level of alert remains at its highest." C.A.N. agrees with this assessment - complacency would be fatal at this time. We have six months hard work in front of us - and then some! We must make it clear that while we are NOT frightened of accountability, no country sport is for sale or sacrifice. And that the wrath of the countryside is FAR more dangerous to the survival of this Government than its own rabid backbenchers could ever be! Watch this space.
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