The hunting ban could be gone soon – but the hypocrisy will linger on, says Melissa Kite in this week’s issue. Cameron knows he has to deliver something to the hunting fraternity now that he leads a majority government, because he promised a vote on repeal in his manifesto. The trouble is that he can’t risk a free vote, which only entrenches the hunting ban if it goes against him. So a solution has been hit upon that involves amending the Hunting Act by statutory instrument. But as David Amess MP, a member of Conservatives Against Fox Hunting, suggests on this week’s podcast, it won’t work – because there is no appetite for another debate about hunting. Camilla Swift, who presents this week’s podcast, suggests that there may be.
George Osborne delivered his summer Budget yesterday. His main decision was a to introduce a new ‘living wage’ of £7.20 an hour, rising to £9 an hour by 2020.
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