In July the House of Commons rejected a compromise bill that would have placed strict controls on the hunting of foxes with dogs. Instead by an overwhelming majority of 362-154, the House approved an amendment that would create a ban on fox hunting with dogs.
In an effort to distance himself from the Labor Party’s earlier promises, Tony Blair and other shad been pushing a fox hunting bill that would have placed a number of restrictions on such hunting, but would have stopped short of a total ban. But at the last minute the government backed away and withdrew its proposed compromise amendment.
As in the past, the bill now goes to the House of Lords which will almost certainly reject it as it has rejected previous bans.
This time around, however, the House of Commons will attempt to use the Parliament Act to override the House of Lords. To do so, the bill will have to pass in two successive sessions of parliament. At this point, that seems to be a forgone conclusion, though Peers in the House of Lords will apparently try to stretch out as long as possible their consideration of the ban to postpone as much as possible its eventual passage.
Source:
MPs back hunting ban. The BBC, July 1, 2003.
No More Hunting With Hounds?. Associated Press, July 1, 2003.
Ministers expect ban in force by early next year. Marie Woolf and Andrew Grice, The Independent (London), July 2, 2003.