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1. Hunting in the Commons 2. Chester polo, picnic and ladies' evening racing 3. New film about why it is best to buy British 4. Andrew Bruce – Help for Heroes 5. Updated membership insurance 1. Hunting in the Commons In last week's Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs) Labour MP Paddy Tipping chose to use a rare opportunity to question Gordon Brown on hunting. A few years ago the House of Commons rarely talked of anything else. These days, however, both the Government and backbench MPs who drove through the Act seem less than keen to mention their discredited legislation.
It is open to speculation why Mr Tipping chose to ask Mr Brown: “After years of discussion, Parliament decided that fox hunting should be banned. Is not the priority now to ensure that the legislation is implemented effectively, and not to promise that it will be repealed at some date in the future?”. It may, however, be no coincidence that PMQs fell the day before the local elections and that, against all the evidence, some within the Labour Party retain the belief that hunting is some sort of ‘dog whistle’ issue for its core voters.
The Prime Minister, who no-one can ever remember speaking a word on the subject before, responded: “I understand that the Leader of the Opposition has said: ‘We would let the House of Commons have a free vote…and…if there was a vote to get rid of the ban…there would be a government bill in government time.’ I believe that there is a settled view among the public on the matter and that it would be better if all parties in the House recognised the previous vote of the House of Commons on the issue.”
It was noticeable that Gordon Brown refused to endorse the suggestion that hunting should be a policing and enforcement “priority”, and whilst some within the Labour Party might have thought that David Cameron’s commitment to a free vote on repeal is a vote loser the results of the next day’s elections show how ludicrous that theory is.
There are more reasons to be positive about the future of hunting now than at any time for a decade. Our opponents did their worst and the Hunting Act finally became law, yet the infrastructure of hunting is largely un-dented. Most hunts have been able to carry out a range of hunting activities with only a very few facing vindictive prosecutions. The courts, meanwhile, are struggling to make sense of the legislation and it will be some time yet before they properly define the law, if they ever do. Meanwhile it seems increasingly likely that the opposition party, which has consistently pledged a free vote to repeal the Act, will form the next government. MPs and candidates of all parties have accepted the ‘Case for Repeal’ and pledged their support. Our calculations suggest that any House of Commons after the next election with a Conservative majority will have a majority of MPs who support repeal.
As Gordon Brown wrestles with economic downturn and the fallout from last week’s elections, surely he must realise how ridiculous the continued obsession of some of his MPs with hunting makes his party look. I suspect it will not be an issue high on his agenda as he seeks to rebuild Labour’s image as relevant and in touch with voters’ concerns.
Simon Hart
Chief Executive 2. Chester polo, picnic and ladies evening racing A polo, picnic and ladies’ evening racing event will take place to raise funds for the Countryside Alliance at the beautiful Chester Racecourse on Tuesday 10th June 2008. The evening will include: 4pm Arrive for Pimms
4.30 Polo match
5.30 Polo presentation and auction
6pm Picnic time (bring your own picnic)
6.45 First race
Polo, Pimms and racing tickets are £13 (includes car parking).
Children under 5 can enter free of charge and 16 year olds and under are £8.
Tickets will be posted out by 2nd June so please book by 26th May.
To book tickets please enclose a cheque made payable to “Countryside Alliance” and your ticket requirements to:
John Scrivener
Gales Uchaf
Llangynhafal
Denbigh LL16 4LP
Enquiries to: John Scrivener 01824 790603 or Barry Henderson 01824 704047. Upgrades to the County Stand can be obtained direct from Chester Racecourse
3. New film about why it is best to buy British To mark the launch of the seventh British Food Fortnight, the organisers have produced a 3 minute film explaining why it is best to buy British food. This is a new version of the acclaimed Farmers Weekly film that was produced to explain the connection between food and farming. Seen through the eyes of children, the film can be watched online from the home page of the event’s website www.britishfoodfortnight.co.uk.
Do your bit to promote British farm produce by encouraging those you work with to watch it and the teachers at your children's school to show it during assembly. If you require a dvd version to show at events please email:
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There is also a new section on 'Buying British' on the event's website with information for consumers, retailers and caterers on why and how to buy British, the labels and quality marks to look for, details of regional and seasonal varieties, livestock breeds to look for, advice on cuts and recipe ideas. The first one-stop source of advice on buying British! 4. Andrew Bruce – Help for Heroes Andrew Bruce, a stalwart of the Countryside Alliance for the last eight years, is leaving his office at the Old Town Hall, Kennington for another adventure raising funds for Help for Heroes. Andrew originally joined the Alliance in 2000 to help organise the 'march that never was' that was cancelled because of foot and mouth in 2001. He stayed on, however, and became the logistical genius behind the great Liberty and Livelihood March on 22nd September 2002. The task of transporting 400,000 people to London from every corner of the country is not one that anyone had even attempted before and it seems unlikely that it will ever be repeated. If you were one of the hundreds of thousands who travelled to London by coach it was Andrew who staggered times, organised drop off points and booked parking for the biggest civil liberties demonstration in British history. Having scaled that peak Andrew moved on to a fundraising role within the Alliance and over the last five years has helped raise hundreds of thousands of pounds for the Alliance's campaigns.
Andrew is going to walk alone and unsupported 1,255 miles along the Way of St James medieval pilgrimage route starting from the Cathedrale de St Pierre in Geneva on 16th May and finishing at Santiago de Compostela in North West Spain about three months later. Being Andrew, he has enlisted the support of a galaxy of patrons from Field Marshall The Lord Bramall to Sandy Gall, and from Sir Ranulph Fiennes to James Blunt to help raise money for badly injured servicemen returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Andrew will be sleeping under the stars as he walks across France and Spain and you will be able to follow his progress on his blog on the Help for Heroes website. More importantly you can sponsor him and help raise funds towards a new £5million hydro-therapy pool & gymnasium at the services Headley Court Rehabilitation Centre in Surrey. 5. Updated membership insurance Enjoying your sport with peace of mind is a powerful reason to join the Countryside Alliance. The membership insurance package provides Personal Accident cover and Employers’, Public and Products Liability cover for eligible members whilst participating in a range of specific country pursuits that are defined as Recognised Activities.
The Membership Insurance Programme has been renegotiated and placed with new Underwriters AIG UK Limited effective from 1st January 2008. Click here for more information, summaries of cover and claim forms or click here to join the Countryside Alliance. |
