Hunting Bill (Procedure)

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 1:40 pm on 15 September 2004.

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Photo of Claire Ward Claire Ward PPS (Rt Hon John Hutton, Minister of State), Department of Health 1:40, 15 September 2004

It is a real shame that I have to disagree with my hon. Friend, but I can tell him that there is outright support for this policy in the Watford party and among my constituents. People want us to settle the issue, because we promised that we would. It is also a matter of trust: in the past two general election campaigns, we said that we would bring the matter to a close. It is absolutely clear that the majority in this House favour a ban on hunting. We can take into account all sorts of minority issues, but at the end of the day, if hunting is wrong, we must take a stand against it. I believe that it is fundamentally wrong and unacceptable in the 21st century in modern Britain and I shall be very pleased to vote to ban it tonight.