07.01.2018 - independent.co.uk - Rob Merrick Deputy Political Editor
'I think there was a clear message about that and that's why I say there won't be a vote on fox hunting during this parliament'

Theresa May has been forced to bow to the inevitable and abandon her pledge to give MPs a vote on whether to bring back fox hunting.
The vote was shelved last year after the Conservatives’ general election disaster – a reversal partly caused by the Prime Minister’s surprise backing for the repeal of anti-hunting legislation.
Now Ms May has told BBC’s Andrew Marr Show that she had received a “clear message” on the controversy on the doorstep and confirmed she will not return to it.
“As Prime Minister, my job isn’t just about what I think about something, it’s actually about looking at what the view of the country is,” she said. “I think there was a clear message about that and that’s why I say there won’t be a vote on fox hunting during this parliament.”
However, the League Against Cruel Sports urged the Tories to go further by ruling out any move to overturn the hunting ban in a future parliament. “Hunting is a barbaric practice which still sees British wildlife being torn to pieces by packs of hounds,” said Chris Pitt, the League’s deputy director of campaigns.
“Recent polling showed that opposition to hunting in the UK remains at an all-time high of 85 per cent, so it’s clear that this pledge will be popular with the public.”
The Hunting Act, introduced by Labour in 2004, bans the use of dogs to hunt foxes and other wild mammals in England and Wales. The Tories had pledged in their manifesto to hold a free vote on a bill in Government time to allow Parliament to decide the future of the act.

BBC
'The view of the country'
Mrs May, who has previously shown support for fox-hunting, told the Andrew Marr Show she had not changed her "personal view", but had listened to the "messages" she got during the election.
"My own view has not changed but as prime minister, my job isn't just about what I think about something, it's actually about looking at what the view of the country is," she said.

"I think there was a clear message about that and that's why I say there won't be a vote on fox-hunting during this parliament."
Labour said the move was "long overdue" and called on ministers to take tough action against those who continue to conduct illegal fox hunts.
The announcement was also welcomed by anti-hunting campaigners.

The League Against Cruel Sports said hunting was a "barbaric" practice "which still sees British wildlife being torn to pieces by packs of hounds".
"It appears that the government now accepts that cruel sports should no longer be a part of 21st Century society so it's good to know they won't try to legalise it again in this Parliament, though they may try again in the next," said spokesman Chris Pitt.
The group also called for stronger action against illegal hunting which it said was being carried out in the name of "trail hunting".
A vote on the issue is one of a number of manifesto pledges dropped after Theresa May lost her parliamentary majority in June, including plans to scrap universal free school lunches for infant children and radical reforms to social care funding.
Mirror

Humiliated Theresa May finally U-turns on her cruel bid to bring back fox hunting
She will admit there was a "clear message" the public don't want the cruel bloodsport brought back - despite her offering MPs a vote to do so

The Guardian

May drops manifesto promise to allow foxhunting vote
U-turn over plan to allow parliament chance to reverse ban on bloodsport could trigger backlash by rural Tories