Gavin welcomes Tory defeat on fox hunting
Gavin Newlands, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, has today welcomed the UK Government’s announcement that it has withdrawn the vote on their amendments in the House of Commons tomorrow that would weaken the Fox Hunting Ban – after the SNP Westminster group declared that they would vote against such measures.
The SNP group at Westminster unanimously decided to vote against the UK Government’s proposed amendments to the Hunting Act at a parliamentary group meeting on Monday evening. The UK Government announced this morning (Tuesday, 14 July 2015) that they were withdrawing the vote – illustrating how slender their majority in parliament is.
Gavin Newlands, the MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire North, said:
“The UK Government’s retreat from weakening the Fox Hunting legislation is very welcome news indeed – the Tories knew that their sleekit amendment they would be defeated in the House of Commons.
“On Monday evening, the SNP group at Westminster unanimously decided to vote against the UK Government’s attempt to water down the Fox Hunting Ban. I believe that this was absolutely the right decision to take – we pledged to play a constructive role at Westminster on behalf of the people of Scotland and Renfrewshire, so it only right that we cooperate with other progressive parties from across the UK to vote against these proposals.
“However, after we announced our commitment to vote against the UK Government’s amendments to the Hunting Act, the Prime Minister ordered the vote to be withdrawn from the House of Commons.
“This is a victory for democracy – a victory for animal rights campaigners; a victory for progressive politics; and a victory for common sense.
“Meanwhile, our colleagues in the Scottish Parliament will now look to assess, revise and strengthen the Fox Hunting Ban in Scotland – and we will oppose any Tory measure to weaken the Fox Hunting Ban in the rest of the UK if it’s ever put before the House again.”
