Tally ho, Simon!

[Ereiam_jh]

I'd like to see more hunting and less snaring and shooting.

Less animals would die and it would better target old, sick and suffering animals.

 

[LACS]

"Your hypocrisy knows no bounds."

I didn't know people still used expressions like that. I thought they could only be heard in pre-war British films. The devil take it, you blackguard!

 

[Hercules]

"Although the snare probably kills more foxes (and other hapless wildlife), I do believe their use to be the least humane and least discriminate form of pest control."

So you don't support the use of snares?

As I have clearly stated, I support the requirement to control the fox population, although in my eyes, the use of the snare is the least preferred option when animal welfare is taken into consideration What part of that do you not understand?

 

[Hercules]

''There you go again, presenting your view as if it were fact. Where's your evidence that farmers are using snares in increasing numbers?''

No written evidence, but based on extensive conversations with a large number of farmers and Landowners in my area - grass roots level experience, not just reading propoganda.

''You really should seek help about this persecution complex you have. I don't dislike all hunters and have never posted comments to suggest I do. I have much more respect for those who acknowledge hunting is cruel but are honest enough to admit their enjoyment of hunting is more important to them than animal welfare considerations. I haven't got much time for puffed up ignoramuses.''

No persecution complex here little man. I quite enjoy laughing at your oppressed attitude and flimsy arguments. However, it mst be hard being on the losing side every time. The plural of Ignoramus is ignorami.

''Don't talk to me about tolerance when you post insults which allude to someone with Downs Syndrome. As with many of your pals, tolerance only becomes important to you when your own interests are affected.''

Bore Off

 

[LACS]

Add together Hercules, Aegywhatnot, Tom Fag and Nigel and you have the makings of a superb reality tv programme. They're the sort of people who'd look OTT on Little Britain. I openly laugh at all four of you.

 

[LACS]

And by the way, please please let it be true that Simon Hart wants to become a Tory MP. His election campaign really would be something to look forward to.

 

[Hercules]

Add together Hercules, Aegywhatnot, Tom Fag and Nigel and you have the makings of a superb reality tv programme. They're the sort of people who'd look OTT on Little Britain. I openly laugh at all four of you.

You must find it quite easy to laugh out loud when your only audience is your computer screen.
However, I would imagine that any form of laughter would be enjoyable for you whilst you live your miserable and lonely life hidden away from reality.

 

[Onyxia]

I tell you what, Labour are going to have an absolute riot with Cameron. What's the betting they put up posters of him in hunting gear during the election campaign?
..............................................................................................................
OMG! Posters ?? That would really make mechange my vote :crazy:
Anyone with half a brain( so that excludes you LACS) will vote fro whoever they feel will do the country as a whole the most good.
Posters, smear tactics and the like wont matter.

 

[wurzel]

"Add together Hercules, Aegywhatnot, Tom Fag and Nigel and you have the makings of a superb reality tv programme. They're the sort of people who'd look OTT on Little Britain. I openly laugh at all four of you. "

Ouch !! How hurtful !!

 

[wurzel]

"Mid term it looks as though Labour isn't doing too bad then."


No. They are doing very well.

Where shall we start with sleazy labour? Bernie Ecclestone?

 

[Ereiam_jh]

"What's the betting they put up posters of him in hunting gear during the election campaign? "

Good policy, make Hunting a symbol of resistance to new labour.

What's the betting that it would get the tories more votes?

 

[combat_claire]

But with the Conservatives achieving their best poll results since 1992 I wouldn't get too cocky!

 

[combat_claire]

You seem to forget that the 2004 election campaign was staffed by a huge number of hunting folk. We campaigned for a month, getting involved in leafleting, canvassing, telephone canvassing, getting out the vote and telling at polling stations.

We didn't mention hunting once, but managed to oust 29 anti-hunting Mps and sit many more back on vastly reduced majorities. Don't under-estimate the ability and eloquence of hunting people in the political sphere.

 

[Paul T]

Okay, so you do support the slow strangulation of wildlife by snaring.

So much for your concern for the welfare of animals.

 

[Paul T]

"No written evidence, but based on extensive conversations with a large number of farmers and Landowners in my area - grass roots level experience, not just reading propoganda."

In other words based on conversations with people with the same 'sporting' interests as yourself. Thought so.

"No persecution complex here little man. I quite enjoy laughing at your oppressed attitude and flimsy arguments. However, it mst be hard being on the losing side every time. The plural of Ignoramus is ignorami."

What a peculiar view of the world you have. I thought you and your pals were the ones whining about oppression, having fought a futile battle to stop a hunt ban.

PS 'mst' should have a 'u' in it, and ‘propoganda’ is actually spelt ‘propaganda”.

"Bore Off"

As I said, tolerance only becomes important to you when your own interests are affected.

 

[Paul T]

I thought the hunting lobby was fond of claiming that hunting isn't important to people. If this is the case, most voters would wonder why the Tories want to waste Parliamentary time revisiting the hunting issue.

Reminders of this policy during election time would leave many asking why the Tories haven't got more important things to do.

 

[Paul T]

Claire, the pro-hunters (backed by the CA) had high hopes of returning the Tories to power in 2004, that didn't happen. If you can't help a party regain power in the aftermath of an extremely unpopular war, I wouldn't over-estimate your importance next time round.

 

[combat_claire]

Locally our results were encouraging. The Fitzwilliam campaigned in 2000 and didn't manage to oust the sitting anti-hunt MP. By 2004 we were far more organised and had sterling success in Peterborough & Wellingborough, with Corby sitting on a very thin majority.

This would suggest that as the years go by, we are becoming more skilled. Many of the hunts involved in 2004 had never done anything like it before. 2007/2008 will be one to watch with interest. Will these results of 2004 be replicated?

29 anti-hunting MPs ousted
21 anti-hunting MPs left with majorities of less than 3%
9 pro-hunting MPs with boosted majorities

In the wake of an unpopular war we might not have managed it, but we were also hampered by a leader who was tainted by the previous Tory administration.

 

[combat_claire]

Interestingly the Countryside Alliance took no part in the actual campaigning. This was run entirely by Vote Ok. A totally separate beast, staffed by hunting and country people.

 

[LACS]

"We didn't mention hunting once"

and, ironically, your secretive silence says it all...

 

[LACS]

"What's the betting that it would get the tories more votes?"

Long, very very long.

 

[Ereiam_jh]

You're out of touch LACS. Public opinion is extremely fickle.

You might have had it on your side once but the Hunting Act is increasingly being seend as a typical example of New Labour incompetance.

BTW I'm going to break it this weekend. There is nothing you can do to stop me.

 

[Paul T]

I know that's what the CA would have liked the public to believe, but a national newspaper (Observer, I think) caught Simon Hart admitting that the CA needed to keep quite about its support for Vote OK.

 

[Paul T]

But the government which introduced the Hunting Act remained in power despite all your efforts and its massive unpopularity in the aftermath of the war.

 

[combat_claire]

Funnily enough despite what you imagine, hunting people don't talk solely about hunting. We tend to also have strong and focused opinions on a range of topics. It happens that the hunting ban has galvanised many of us into getting politically active. In my mind engaging youngsters with the political process can only be a good thing.

There was no need to mention hunting, though I'm sure it must have been blatantly obvious that we weren't locals when we roll out of muddy estates and landrovers - wearing checked shirts, flat caps and 'Liberty & Livelihood' polo shirts!

 

[combat_claire]

The only link as far as I am aware was that many members of Vote Okay were also members of the CA. Naturally so given that Vote Okay was a group devised by countryside people, to get us politically active.

 

[combat_claire]

It was always going to be a hard task. I don't think anybody realistically expected us to overturn them in 2004. The success we did achieve was a boost and we will be out again this time to build on it. Then we'll see what the result will be.

 

[Hercules]

But the government which introduced the Hunting Act remained in power despite all your efforts and its massive unpopularity in the aftermath of the war.

The War still continues you fool. However we are now fighting it in two different theatres. It may have escaped your attention, but British soldiers are now dying in both Afghanistan and Iraq. The levels of casualties will only increase, as will the unpopularity for the Operations.

Along with Labour's lies, hypocrisy, knee-jerk legislation, immigration failure, sleaze etc etc, the issue of war will continue to be a massive (and likely to be bigger than before) issue.

Although hunting is a secondary issue to the majority of the population, it is still incredibly important to a lot of people. Once again, hundreds of those in support of hunting will be on the streets campaigning on behalf of candidates (not necessarily Tories) who demonstrate a sensible outlook on the hunting act and its absurdities.

How many could LACS muster up? I would suggest no more than a couple of soap dodgers and a malnourished mongrel.

 

[combat_claire]

Here are just 87 reasons why not to vote Labour in 2007. Since the date this list was compiled it has grown almost weekly.

Private Mark Dobson, Tyne-Tees Regiment

Squadron Leader Patrick Marshall, Headquarters Strike Command

Flight Lieutenant David Stead, 47 Squadron, RAF Lyneham

Flight Lieutenant Andrew Smith, 47 Squadron, RAF Lyneham

Flight Lieutenant Paul Pardoel, 47 Squadron, RAF Lyneham

Master Engineer Gary Nicholson, 47 Squadron, RAF Lyneham

Chief Technician Richard Brown, RAF Lyneham

Flight Sergeant Mark Gibson, 47 Squadron, RAF Lyneham

Sergeant Robert O’Connor, RAF Lyneham

Corporal David Williams, RAF Lyneham

Acting Lance Corporal Steven Jones, Royal Signals

Sergeant Paul Connolly, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers

Acting Chief Petty Officer Simon Roger Owen

Private Pita Tukutukuwaqa, The Black Watch

Sergeant Stuart Gray, The Black Watch

Private Paul Lowe, The Black Watch

Private Scott McArdle, The Black Watch

Staff Sergeant Denise Michelle Rose, Royal Military Police

Private Kevin McHale, The Black Watch

Corporal Marc Taylor, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers

Gunner David Lawrence, Royal Artillery

Fusilier Stephen Jones, The Royal Welch Fusiliers

Lance Corporal Paul Thomas, The Light Infantry

Private Marc Ferns, The Black Watch

Private Lee O’Callaghan, Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment

Private Christopher Rayment, Princess of Wales’ Royal Regiment

Flight Lieutenant Kristian Gover, 33 Squadron RAF

Fusilier Gordon Gentle, Royal Highland Fusiliers

Corporal Richard Ivell, Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers

Sapper Robert Thomson, Royal Engineers

Rifleman Vincent Windsor, Royal Green Jackets

Lance Corporal Andrew Craw, Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders

Major James Stenner, Welsh Guards

Sergeant Norman Patterson, Cheshire Regiment

Private Ryan Thomas, Royal Regiment of Wales

Corporal Ian Plank, Royal Marines

Sergeant John Nightingale, 217 Transport Squadron

Fusilier Russell Beeston, 52nd Lowland Regiment

Major Matthew Titchener, 150 Provost Company

Company Sergeant Major Colin Wall, 150 Provost Company

Corporal Dewi Pritchard, 116 Provost Company

Captain David Jones, Queen’s Lancashire Regiment

Private Jason Smith, 52nd Lowland Regiment

Captain James Linton, 40 Field Regiment, Royal Artillery

Sergeant Simon Hamilton-Jewell, from Chessington

Corporal Russell Aston, from Swadlincote

Corporal Paul Long, from Colchester

Corporal Simon Miller, from Washington, Tyne & Wear

Lance-Corporal Benjamin Hyde, from Northallerton

Lance-Corporal Thomas Keys, from Bala

Mr Leonard Harvey

Corporal David Shepherd

Gunner Duncan Pritchard

Private Andrew Kelly, from Tavistock

Lance Corporal James McCue, 7 Air Assault Battalion, REME

Fusilier Kelan Turrington, Royal Regiment of Fusiliers

Lance Corporal Ian Malone

Piper Christopher Muzvuru

Lance Corporal Karl Shearer, Household Cavalry Regiment

Lieutenant Alexander Tweedie, Household Cavalry Regiment

Staff Sergeant Chris Muir, Army School of Ammunition, Royal Logistic Corps

Lance Corporal Shaun Brierley, 212 Signal Squadron, 1 (UK) Armoured Division HQ & Signal Regiment, based in Herford, Germany

Marine Christopher Maddison, 9 Assault Squadron Royal Marines

Major Steve Ballard, 3 Commando Brigade, Royal Marines

Lance Corporal of Horse Matty Hull, Household Cavalry Regiment

Corporal Stephen Allbutt, from Stoke-on-Trent

Trooper David Clarke, from Littleworth, Staffordshire

Lance Corporal Barry Stephen, from Perth

Sergeant Steven Roberts, 2nd Royal Tank Regiment, from Bradford

Sapper Luke Allsopp, 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD), from North London

Staff Sergeant Simon Cullingworth, 33 Engineer Regiment (EOD), from Essex

Flight Lieutenant Kevin Barry Main, Pilot, IX (B) Squadron

Flight Lieutenant David Rhys Williams, Navigator, IX (B) Squadron

Lieutenant Philip Green RN, 849 Squadron

Lieutenant Antony King RN, 849 Squadron, from Helston, Cornwall

Lieutenant Marc Lawrence RN, 849 Squadron

Lieutenant Philip West RN, 849 Squadron, from Budock Water, Cornwall

Lieutenant James Williams RN, 849 Squadron, from Falmouth, Cornwall

Lieutenant Andrew Wilson RN, 849 Squadron

Colour Sergeant John Cecil, Royal Marines, from Plymouth

Lance Bombardier Llywelyn Evans, 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, from Llandudno

Captain Philip Stuart Guy, Royal Marines

Marine Sholto Hedenskog, Royal Marines

Sergeant Les Hehir, 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery

Operator Mechanic (Communications) Second Class Ian Seymour RN, 148 Commando Battery Royal Artillery

Warrant Officer Second Class Mark Stratford, Royal Marines

Major Jason Ward, Royal Marines

 

[Hercules]

Claire,

You can add another 28 names to that list for Iraq alone.

In Afghanistan we have lost 15 since May.

Well done Tony Blair. 700 hours debating the hunting issue, 7 hours devoed to committing troops to a long war.

Labour in power next time? Absolutely no chance.