Rolling coverage of all the day’s political developments as they happenSturgeon defends SNP’s U-turn decision on hunting voteSNP’s hunting decision - Reaction and analysisGovernment pulls hunting vote 11.38am BST Outside Westminster the anti-hunting protesters have blocked a road, the BBC’s James Landale reports.Anti hunt protestors block road outside Commons. pic.twitter.com/6HLwkEqHbs 11.37am BST Here is some Twitter comment from journalists on the hunting decision.From the Guardian’s Owen JonesThe Tories to bring forward undermining the constitution and the Union so they can start bringing back fox hunting. British politics, 2015.So far David Cameron has performed three U-turns under pressure from MPs (EVEL, EU ref and now fox hunting). His Government is 67 days old.Media trying to decide whether pulling the foxhunting vote is a humiliation for Cameron or the SNP doing him a big favour 11.32am BST This is from Joe Anderson, the Labour mayor of Liverpool, on the hunting decision.Let's use the Commons time freed up with the arrogant cancelation of Fox Hunting debate, to debate the attacks on the working poor in budget 11.30am BST This is interesting. It shows where support for the Hunting Act is strongest and weakest.Every region of Britain supports the fox hunting ban – http://t.co/B3pUJWPjkp pic.twitter.com/pZjqm6gP7X 11.28am BST Caroline Lucas, the Green MP, has tweeted a picture of herself, with some of the anti-hunting protesters.Great turnout to celebrate a win today as Cameron backs down on efforts to undermine the ban #keeptheban pic.twitter.com/grwXiTCoCt 11.25am BST Here’s the Guardian’s story on the shelving of the vote on hunting. 11.21am BST This is from the New Statesman’s George Eaton.Tories have now pulled votes on fox hunting, EVEL and Human Rights Act - proof that a majority of 12 is barely a majority at all. 11.18am BST Animal rights activists have been campaigning in Westminster today against the plans to relax the ban on hunting.Just broke the news to the foxes that the Govt has shelved the vote. They weren't quite sure how to react. pic.twitter.com/ar0EnANBJMLatest foxhunting protestors. "We will, we will, we will stop you!" was the chant. Nod to @DrBrianMay I reckon. pic.twitter.com/GxL90HrxPkA spokesman for the vulpine community pic.twitter.com/cxKwE89eNSProtesters say no to #foxhunting @RTUKnews @RuptlyNewsroom @PETAUK @peta @rustyrockets @HuntSabs pic.twitter.com/VcovMmSGQC 11.11am BST Here is some reaction from MPs to the news that the hunting vote has been pulled.From the SNP’s Stewart McDonaldBe in no doubt, the Tories are on the run thanks to @theSNP #foxhunting pic.twitter.com/PJ1o3826r5Cameron warned of chaos, that's exactly what he's got. With 24 hours to go he's had to pull fox hunting vote. What a shamblesTories abandon vote on fox hunting. Congratulations to anti-blood sports campaigners everywhere #keeptheban pic.twitter.com/AQeWu3CUmRIncidentally I don't think the Tories will win a vote on #keeptheban even when they've rigged the vote.Government has pulled tomorrow's hunting vote. Seems they did not want to risk Parliament making up its own mind in the - er - "free vote" 11.04am BST The government was due to publish revised plans for English votes for English laws ahead of tomorrow’s debate. But they still have not emerged.Still no sign of the \governments revised EVEL plans, due yesterday, due to be debated tomorrow...I don't see how EVEL will help Tory leadership pass foxhunting change apart from indicating how English and Welsh MPs feel -needs double maj 10.47am BST Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader and Scotland’s first minister, has welcomed the government’s decision to pull the hunting vote.Sturgeon:"I'm glad they have pulled the vote." But says "The reason ...he can't carry his own parliamentary group" #foxhunting 10.46am BST Labour claims the hunting decision is a “shambles”. This is from the official Labour Whips account.Absolute shambles from PM & Govt on Fox Hunting, schedulde at shortest poss. notice backdoor attempt to repeal & now appear to have pulled 10.44am BST Ministers plan to hold the hunting vote after English votes for English laws has been implemented, my colleague Patrick Wintour reports.Government has withdrawn fox hunting vote fearing defeat. Issue to be revisited in Autumn when rules on Scottish MPs voting changed. 10.42am BST One consequence of the government’s decision to pull the hunting vote is that MPs will have more time tomorrow to debate English votes for English laws. 10.41am BST The government has pulled tomorrow’s planned voting on foxhunting, the BBC is reporting.Following the SNP’s decision to take part, it was almost inevitable that the proposals, which would relax the hunting ban, would be defeated, and so this is perhaps not a big surprise. 10.37am BST The hearing is starting.Andrew Tyrie, the committee chair, starts.Mark Carney: Greek crisis underlines the "institutional shortcomings" of the eurozone 10.24am BST Mark Carney, the governor of the Bank of England, is about to give evidence to the Commons Treasury committee.My colleague Jill Treanor wrote a preview story yesterday. Here’s how it starts.The Bank of England governor, Mark Carney, will face questions this week about the outlook for interest rates and the precarious situation in Greece when he becomes the first witness to appear before the new-look Treasury select committee.The parliamentary committee – one of the most influential in Westminster – will meet on Tuesday for the first time since the general election, the first opportunity for the new members to set out their agendas. 10.18am BST Tomorrow MPs are due to spend 90 minutes debating a statutory instrument relaxing the hunting ban and, separately, the matter of English votes for English laws (Evel). Following the SNP’s decision yesterday to vote on the Hunting Act, even though it does not affect Scotland, those two issues have effectively been merged.A week ago, when MPs last debated Evel (it’s becoming a weekly occurrence), it was clear that David Cameron was facing a significant backlash from backbenchers. The threat of a revolt was so serious that ministers had to put off the vote until the autumn. But now, in the light of the SNP decision, which could see Scottish MPs having a decisive impact on an England-only matter, the Tory Evel rebellion may well evaporate.The Scottish National Party risk making themselves look foolish, unprincipled and unwise by voting against making English law similar to Scottish law. This action is naive - it makes them look silly and is perhaps the first major mis-step by Nicola Sturgeon.Whatever your views on hunting it's surely a bit rich of SNP to vote to deny England a law that Scotland already has. Time for EVEL methinksFox hunting vote tomorrow is set to become more about English Votes 4 English Laws than hunting as SNP wade in to vote on an English matterNow I'm no fan of fox hunting, but SNP preparing to vote on this English & Wales only issue shows why English Votes for English Laws needed!Seems Tory MPs and SNP on mutually assured course to dismantle the Union.But it does leave one wondering if the SNP’s full-throated opposition to the government’s shambolic-but-hardly-revolutionary proposals for EVEL waswholly sincere. Because this kind of fox-hunting ploy is the kind of thing designed to infuriate English Tory MPs. And so resentment is stoked, grievances nursed, and outrage manufactured on both sides of the border. Job done. If nothing else, you might at least admire the party’s opportunism. 9.52am BST Here are comments from two journalists on the SNP’s decision to vote on English hunting legislation.From the Independent on Sunday’s Jane MerrickRemember when David Cameron warned that voting Labour would allow the SNP to block legislation + cause chaos? Thank god that's not happeningSNP set to thwart Cameron's moves to relax the hunting ban in England. It could be a blessing in disguise for Tories http://t.co/hmY25GcZ4T 9.44am BST A Survation poll today suggests the SNP are on course to increase the size of their majority at Holyrood in next year’s election.Survation poll seat prediction: SNP 71 Lab 24 Con 14 Green 12 LDem 7 UKIP 1 #SP16 pic.twitter.com/KK3XXU7fHLScottish Daily Mail: New poll shows SNP is heading for landslide victory, but Scots still don't want independence. pic.twitter.com/m8Ru6zRKKp 9.39am BST Inflation was zero last month on the government’s preferred measure, according to the Office for National Statistics. 9.32am BST Labour formally asked the SNP to vote against the proposal to relax the hunting ban. In an article for Huffington Post, Paul Nuttall, the Ukip deputy leaders, says this shows that Labour was lying during the election campaign when it said it would not give the SNP any influence. Here’s an extract.In the run up to the last general election, a huge play was made about the risk a Labour government would effectively mean an SNP government.Miliband tried to reassure us non-Scots that if we trusted him with the reins of the UK, Labour would not allow the SNP influence they didn’t deserve. 9.22am BST Ian Murray, the shadow Scottish secretary, told the Today programme that he was glad the SNP had decided to vote against the plan to relax the hunting ban. But if the Tories lost, it would not be the SNP’s fault, he said.The Conservatives have a majority of 12. They could win this vote tomorrow, if they so wished to do so. The fact that they’re not is because they have their own backbench rebellion going on. 9.11am BST Here is more from what Liam Fox, the Conservative former defence secretary, said on the Today programme about the SNP’s decision to take part in the vote on foxhunting in England.People in England are perfectly capable of electing MPs to look after their own interests, so we can thank Nicola Sturgeon to keep her nose out of that one. In February she was saying that hunting is the sort of issue she would not want SNP members of parliament voting on because it purely affects England. So what we’ve seen really is a pretty toxic mixture of opportunism and hypocrisy coming from the SNP. And it is particularly galling because the government has been very careful, and parliament has been very careful, to try and protect the union by moving slowly and thoughtfully and constructively in terms of English votes on English laws. And more time has been given to the debate. And it seems that while we’re trying to be reasonable to the SNP, they are sticking two fingers up at us. 8.52am BST In February Nicola Sturgeon, the SNP leader and Scottish first minister, said the SNP would not vote on issues just affecting England, like hunting.The SNP have a longstanding position of not voting on matters that purely affect England – such as foxhunting south of the border, for example – and we stand by that.Firstly, there has been overwhelming demand from people in England for the SNP to vote on this issue this week. I can’t think of another issue where I’ve had more communication and it’s unprecedented for so much of that to come from England and what people have been saying to me is if what you meant during the election that you cared about more than Scotland, you wanted to hold out a hand of friendship to people in England, build progressive alliances where you could, if you meant that, then please on this issue vote with us to retain the ban on foxhunting.The second reason is that actually this debate over the past debate has thrown a spotlight onto Scotland’s foxhunting law because what the Conservative government are saying is they’re simply bringing the English law into line with the Scottish law – that’s made a lot of people in Scotland think ‘shouldn’t we be tightening up our law to bring it into line with English law as it stands’. Inevitably there will now be a look at the Scottish law and what we will be looking at is whether the current English law is better and actually there is an interest for us, then, in making sure the English law stays as it is. Continue reading...
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