Martyn Jones

Labour Party | Clwyd South

MP Warns Countryside Lobby Not To Be Duped By Tory "Double Speak"

Tories will face large rebellion in Commons if they try to force through hunting ban repeal

A Senior Labour MP has warned pro-fox hunters not to be duped by ‘double-speak’ from the Tory Party on their position on repealing a fox-hunting ban.

The warning comes from MARTYN JONES MP (Clwyd South) in the wake of last week’s historic vote in the House of Commons to ban hunting with dogs.

Martyn Jones has revealed a glaring contradiction in Tory policy on the controversial issue of fox-hunting.

The contradiction has arisen following recents comments made by Shadow Environment Secretary Tim Yeo in which he pledged that if the Tories were elected to Government, they would introduce a Government Bill to repeal a ban on hunting.

On 23rd July on this year at The Game Fair at Blenheim Palace, the Tories published their policy on fox hunting (see below) and pledged that they would give Government time to a Private Member’s Bill to reintroduce hunting.

This is clearly not the same thing and a contradiction in their position.

Commenting on Tory policy confusion, MARTYN JONES MP said:

“On the one hand their Shadow Environment Secretary Tim Yeo is pledging a Government Bill to repeal a ban – but Tory policy promises to give Government time to a Private Member’s Bill. Which is the true position? The public have a right to know that if the Tories introduce a Government Bill, will they Whip their MPs through the Lobbies to vote for it - or will they follow the historical convention of every other vote on this issue – namely a free-vote, as happened under both Labour and Tory Governments in the past? I doubt it very much, as they would face a considerable rebellion. Remember - many Tory MPs want hunting banned also.

“Either Tim Yeo is not aware of his own Party’s policy on fox-hunting as detailed at Blenheim Palace, or that policy is not worth the paper it is written on. Everyone has a right to know where the Tories stand on this important and controversial issue, and they are telling us different things.

“Since last week’s vote, there has been a great deal of confusion amongst the pro-hunting lobby in relation to Tory policy on fox-hunting. I have been contacted by pro-hunting constituents in recent days claiming that the Tories will overturn a ban on fox hunting – but according to Tory policy this is simply not the case. What they appear to be promising is a free-vote for their MPs - precisely the same as what Labour pledged at the last election and have subsequently delivered.

“At last week’s pro-hunting protest in Parliament Square, Tory MPs lined-up to claim they would overturn any ban on hunting, if they were elected to Government. This is clearly not the case at all.

 “I have therefore written to Tory Leader, Michael Howard asking him to explain precisely what his position is on fox hunting. This is an important matter and it is crucial that both sides of this argument explain their positions with clarity. The Labour Government has spelled it position. The time has now come to end Tory sophistry on this matter.

“The Tories are deliberately muddying-the-waters on fox hunting. Far be it from me to offer advice to pro-hunting supporters, but they could do themselves a huge favour by questioning the Tories closely on their plans. Otherwise they could be seriously duped.”

Commenting on the prospects for a Tory rebellion in the next Parliament, MARTYN JONES said:

“There is absolutely no certainty that the proportion of anti-hunting Tories would decrease in the next Parliament. By their own definition, banning fox hunting is a matter of individual conscience.

“To repeal the ban on fox hunting, a future Tory Government would require a minimum of 330 MPs to secure a simple majority in the House of Commons, and given that in the recent vote 13 per cent of the Parliamentary Tory Party did not vote against a ban, they would have great difficulty in getting a repeal through the Commons.

“If anti-hunting proportion in Tory ranks remained the same, they would need a Parliamentary majority of at least 33 MPs to have any hope of repealing the Hunting Bill. This is simply not going to happen.”