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Foxhunting vote shelved by government after SNP opposition Foxhunting vote shelved by government after SNP opposition
(34 minutes later)
The government is withdrawing its attempt to relax the UK’s foxhunting ban after the SNP scuppered its hopes of winning the vote by saying it would oppose the change.The government is withdrawing its attempt to relax the UK’s foxhunting ban after the SNP scuppered its hopes of winning the vote by saying it would oppose the change.
Related: Government shelves foxhunting vote - Politics liveRelated: Government shelves foxhunting vote - Politics live
Downing Street is now expected to revisit the issue in the autumn after changes to parliamentary voting that will make clear whether a majority of English and Welsh MPs are in favour of weakening the ban. Downing Street is now expected to revisit the issue in the autumn after changes to parliamentary voting - English votes for English laws – that will make clear whether a majority of non-Scottish MPs are in favour of weakening the ban.
The vote was meant to be held on Wednesday but the SNP’s decision to vote with Labour and Tory opponents meant No 10 was no longer confident it would pass. The vote was meant to be held on Wednesday but the SNP’s decision to break with tradition by voting on an English-only matter meant No 10 was no longer confident it would pass.
In response, the SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, told the BBC that Cameron “can’t carry his own parliamentary group”. Labour and dozens of Tories were also opposed to the change, which would have allowed hunters to flush out foxes using a pack of dogs for the purpose of pest control. This is currently allowed in Scotland, while there is a limit of two dogs in England and Wales.
More details soon... Maria Eagle, the shadow environment secretary, said Cameron was“running scared because he knew he was going to lose the vote on foxhunting”. She added: “The government’s proposed changes to the Hunting Act have become a shambles. This has nothing to do with pest control – it is a shabby attempt to repeal a successful piece of animal welfare legislation by the back door.”
Responding to news that the vote has been delayed, the SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, told the BBC that Cameron “can’t carry his own parliamentary group”. Earlier, she made clear the SNP would vote against not just on the issue of foxhunting, but in retaliation for the lack of respect that Cameron has shown her party on the issues of devolution, and plans to give English MPs a veto on English laws.
She told Radio 4’s Today programme: “Since the election, David Cameron’s government has shown very little respect to the mandate that Scottish MPs have. On the Scotland bill, reasonable amendments backed by the overwhelming majority of Scottish MPs have been voted down. The English votes for English laws proposals brought forward go beyond any reasonable proposition and look to make Scottish MPs effectively second-class citizens in the House of Commons.
“So, I think if there’s an opportunity – as there appears to be here – and on an issue where David Cameron appears to be out of touch with majority English opinion as well, to actually remind the government how slender their majority is.”
Speaking next to an anti-foxhunting demonstration outside the House of Commons, Angus Robertson, the SNP Westminster leader, said his party had “tilted the balance in the House of Commons”. He said it was a sign of “the way this government has been treating Scotland” and called it a “victory for the campaigners and common sense”.
The climbdown is a major humiliation for Cameron given that he has also had to delay votes on English votes for English laws and repealing the human rights act over fears he does not have enough support to get them through the Commons. If the SNP choose to repeat their decision to abandon the tradition of not voting on English matters, the prime minister is going to find it difficult to pass anything except the most uncontroversial legislation, with his majority of just 12.
The SNP’s move could also put the union under renewed pressure at a time when the government is also trying to pass divisive proposals that would allow English MPs to veto laws that relate only to England. This is strongly opposed by the SNP, which says it would create two classes of MPs – but some backbench Tories would rather have an even tougher system, where Scottish MPs are entirely excluded from voting on English laws.
On Monday night, the Conservatives suggested the SNP’s move made them more determined than ever to bring in proposals to allow English votes for English laws. A party source said: “This is a technical change to bring the law in England and Wales more closely into line with Scotland. Hunting is a devolved issue. The SNP’s decision to vote on a draft law that does not affect Scotland at all shows exactly why Conservatives committed in our manifesto to ensure laws that only affect England can only be passed with the consent of English MPs.”
However, the current set of proposals would not have stopped the SNP voting down the relaxation of the foxhunting ban because these still require a vote of the whole house for legislation to pass, in addition to a vote by English and Welsh MPs only.
Downing Street had been hoping the SNP would abstain on the free vote on foxhunting because it would have brought the law in England into line with Scotland. However, the SNP said it is now looking at toughening up Scotland’s rules to bring it into line with England and Wales.
The Scottish government has launched its own investigation into the effectiveness of its legislation after surveillance of five of Scotland’s 10 hunts suggested that they were routinely ignoring it, with a complete absence of shotguns. Covert footage taken by the League Against Cruel Sports over a three-month period apparently shows no “flushing to guns”.
The Holyrood environment minister, Aileen McLeod, confirmed in a letter to the league that MSPs intended to scrutinise the ban, writing that she “would be very concerned” if the law was being flouted and that she was referring her concerns to Police Scotland.