Robin Page has written a piece in the Daily Telegraph

Robin Page has written a piece in the Daily Telegraph, as follows:

"On New Year’s Day a large crowd assembled for the hunt; it included local farmer made good Peter Kendall, president of the National Farmers’ Union, with his family. At last, an NFU president who seems to understand ordinary farmers and rural communities. It was good, too, to see his mother, Jasmine, still following the hounds on horseback at 82.

Two years ago when assorted foxhunters told me that I had to vote Tory whenever the election came, as David Cameron had promised to repeal the hunting ban, I had to disappoint them. Firstly, I don’t hunt (although I support it). Secondly, the Tories are lightweight on several real issues, such as the EU, so why should I give them my vote?

And thirdly, many suburban Tories were obviously going to change their minds on the issue as soon as they were elected, and did, so why bother? Interesting isn’t it? Labour MP, sorry, ex-Labour MP, Phil Woolas, gets thrown out of the Commons for lying about an opponent. Yet any number of MPs told absolute whoppers to their electorates at the election but they are allowed to stay, completely untouched and untarnished. Sorry to all those who worked hard to get numerous Tories elected. I told you so."

The link to the piece is here -

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/outdoors/8257281/Country-diary-My-vote-goes-to-foxhunting-not-MPs.html

- and I have responded on-line as follows:

"I know Robin Page. I like Robin Page. Robin Page is a fellow Cambridgeshire farmer and, like me, a born and bred countryman. He and I agree on some things. The Tories have betrayed many of their supporters, of which I also used to be one. I suppose that their worst betrayal is getting into a Brokeback coalition with the Liberals and then raising taxes which hit the hardest in the rural areas and that they didn't anticipate during the election - 'We have no plans to raise VAT to 20%' - they're liars, the lot of them.

But Mr Page is on less strong ground with regard to fox hunting, hare coursing, stag hunting, etc., for, whilst Cameron, Hague, Herbert, Paice, etc., said that they would permit a free vote, they know now that they no longer have the House of Commons support to make it worthwhile. I hate the so-called 'sports' of fox hunting, hare coursing, stag hunting, etc., because I can't cope with the idea of killing animals for fun. There are millions more like me out here. There are many less like the hunting-supporting and prominent Conservative MEP* whom I advised to go drag hunting instead of 'the real thing' in order to comply with the Hunting Act 2004 (which was passed with support from all parties). Do you know what the 'man' said? 'Drag hunting is like sucking a sweetie with the wrapper on.'

If one sucks this 'sweetie' without 'the wrapper on,' the fox is chased to exhaustion and then torn limb from limb by a number of hounds, not killed by the 'quick nip at the back of the neck,' as the mythologists claim. And what about the foxes that 'go to ground' and are then dug out and thrown, literally, to the hounds? This so-called 'sport' - like hare coursing and stag hunting - is utterly disgusting and those who participate in it ought to be ashamed of themselves. Politicians who back them ought to be doubly ashamed of themselves."

*The 'prominent Conservative MEP,' who is probably something of an embarrassment to the Conservative Party, is Mr Roger Helmer, who 'represents' the East Midlands. Go to -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roger_Helmer