An interestiong development in the UK hunting ban story. EFL
A member of the Government admits today that the hunting ban is driven by old-fashioned class warfare and is, at its heart, a bitter battle for control of Britain. Writing in The Telegraph, Peter Bradley, the parliamentary private secretary to Alun Michael, the rural affairs minister, reveals that the real reason that Labour MPs feel so strongly about the ban is because it is aimed at killing 'the old order' and is the first time in history that a Labour government has taken on 'the gentry'. Mr Bradley says: 'We ought at last to own up to it: the struggle over the Bill was not just about animal welfare and personal freedom: it was class war.' The MP for The Wrekin adds that it was the 'toffs' who declared war on Labour by resisting the ban [!!!], but agrees that both sides are battling for power, not animal welfare.
And here was me thinking one side was merely fighting to maintain the status quo, and get on with what's been a favourite part of rural life for centuries. But, NO, daring to resist the massive urban mob means you're 'battling for power'. What a f'kin tosser.
'This was not about the politics of envy but the polities of power. Ultimately it's about who chases foxes governs Britain.' Mr Bradley's comments are in stark contrast to statements from ministers, who have always lied claimed that the Act to ban hunting with hounds is about protecting wildlife. Mr Bradley, 51, admits that he personally sees the campaign to save hunting as an assault on his right to govern as a Labour MP. He protests that the hunting cause is made up of 'the privileged minority which for centuries ran this country from the manor houses of rural England' and tried to keep people like him 'in our place'. 'The placards of the Countryside Alliance plead 'Listen to Us' but what they mean is 'Do What We Say' - as for centuries we have. But that old order no longer prevails.' 'Labour governments have come and gone and left little impression on the gentry. But a ban on hunting touches them. It threatens their inalienable right to do as they please on their own land. Preparations to resist the ban, which was forced through Parliament last week, are gaining pace. When it comes into force on February 19, 10 days before the end of the season, hunts will go out as usual with 50,000 people preparing to break the new law then challenge police to charge them.
Seems a good time to take up the hobby.
| Me, too. Do I have to wear one of those hats, though? |
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