THEY came with their placards, their chants and their furry fox costumes. Brian May, the guitarist from the band “Queen”, even made an appearance. And all for nothing. Just as the protest in Westminster against government plans to relax the ban on fox hunting was in full swing, news came through that the vote in Parliament had been cancelled.
The last-minute change on July 14th followed an announcement by the pro-independence Scottish National Party (SNP) that it would vote with other opposition parties against the amendment. This was unexpected: the ban applies only in England and Wales, and the SNP claims to avoid votes not affecting Scotland. The about-turn put the Conservatives—their slender majority eliminated by rebels on their own benches—on track for a defeat.
The drama intensified the debate about the “West Lothian question” first asked in 1977 by Tam Dalyell, a Scottish MP who wondered why, if powers were devolved to Scotland, he should vote on things affecting West Bromwich, in England, but not his own constituents in West Lothian. Coincidentally, the day after the protest MPs were due to discuss a government...Continue reading
via Brian Rushton, A foxing question
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