The Conservative Party is acting, in parts, as if it is a branch of the Countryside Alliance or BASC on the issue of grouse shooting – sometimes even using their literature as Conservative policy (or referring to the not-so-talented Viscount Ridley‘s article as a basis for policy). However, I should tell you that there are some interesting and sympathetic responses coming from a number of Conservative MPs on this subject (that I will not disclose for fear of giving too much away to the ‘other side’ of this debate). Thank you to everyone who has contacted me on this subject and to all who are giving their MP ‘Firm Briefing’.
Many of you are challenging your MPs to justify the standard briefing that is still being sent out by some MPs. It will be interesting to hear of, and see, responses. Thank you all for participating in ‘Firm Briefing’.
Some MPs have, on their website, a section on responses to campaigns where they can conveniently put their responses (or actually their party’s standard responses) to various issues. My own MP has such an area on his website (click here) and you’ll see that his views on snares are remarkably similar to those of other Conservative MPs (see Oliver Letwin, Henry Bellingham, Christopher Heaton-Harris, Sarah Wollaston). That’s what being a member of a political party entails – sticking to the party line, although most MPs do form their own variant of the party line on those issues that they feel most strongly about (and some, like my MP, have the wit to rephrase some of the standard briefing – others do not).
I am told, though I didn’t witness it, that the website of Conservative Party Chair, Patrick McCloughlin did, for a while, have the standard briefing displayed but it was taken down after this blog was posted here. I’ve had a look around a number of Conservative MPs’ websites and cannot find any which display the party line on grouse shooting – possibly because they would be embarrassed for it to be seen in public and possibly because the line is changing in detail (though perhaps not in overall approach). [While writing this blog I have been told by Andrew Bingham‘s office that he has put ‘his’ views online – they are a watered down version of the standard Conservative response, which represents progress in itself, but still are from being an objective overview. Mr Bingham has a copy of Inglorious (I guess unread) in his office and his constituency has contributed the second highest number of signatures to the e-petition to ban driven grouse shooting].
We are making real, slow progress with Conservatives. It is becoming more and more difficult for MPs to say the type of thing that went out in their original standard briefing, and more and more difficult for any MP to stand up in the debate and use such words. ‘Firm Briefing’ is doing that – without it your Conservative MP would say whatever he was told to say. Thank you all for taking part – and some of you with remarkable enthusiasm and stamina.
And yes, where necessary I’ll be happy to help you give Firm Briefing to Labour MPs – some of you are already in dialogue with them, but this will be easier when we know the date of our expected debate and have a clearer idea of who might speak.
Some of you have received responses from LibDem MPs in the north of England – and the two are quite different. I wonder what other LibDem MPs are writing to you?
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My Tory MP has an entry on the Parliamentary Register of Members Financial Interests for a days shooting and overnight accommodation at the rather splendid Hoare Hall Hotel worth £772 apparently paid for by BASC. I have yet to receive a reply to my letter to him regarding “The Ban”, I wonder whose standard briefing I’ll get when it arrives?
Fight Dirty – interesting name! Welcome to the blog. So that will be one of Geoffrey Clinton-Brown, Bill Wiggin, Edward Garnier, Graham Brady and Mark Spencer https://markavery.info/2016/02/11/a-bit-of-a-round-up/ I wonder how many of them might turn up to speak in our expected debate?
Gosh, how they live! Makes an MPs salary look paltry when you look at the other interests he’s paid for, possibly because of his position? £2,500 for three hours! No wonder he can spare time to go grousing with the BASC.
Wonder what odds the bookies would give on him speaking in any forthcoming debate?
Any response would be nice. Wonder what the average waiting time for a response from a Con MP is?
Paul – it is holiday time. Even MPs are allowed to go on holiday! There are a lot of outstanding letters to be answered though, for sure. And from all parties.
Looking forward to getting the next response from my MP. I managed to get her to read (or more likely be briefed on) the Langholm project last time round, and I’m pushing for her to read the Ember report this time!
I remain highly pessimistic about the chances of her support for a ban (or indeed any real action of any kind), but it might just be possible that she’ll admit that all is not well in the uplands. Given that she is a Conservative MP, and one of her constituents is losing his NT tenancy because of a man taking a model hen harrier for a walk, I’d hope she might at least concede that the law needs to be better enforced. I’ll just have to wait and see!
Ezra – good luck and thank you.
Knowing this world quite well, I would be surprised if there aren’t quite a few in the shooting industry extremely worried about the impact of the grouse shooting debate – and in particular how some of the more extreme and rude comments coming from the shooting side are influencing the middle ground – because, as people keep pointing out to Jeremy Corbyn’s supporters, it doesn’t matter what a room full of your mates think – or for that matter, what sworn enemies think – the debate is won or lost in the middle ground and urban Britain is perhaps not the place where extreme shooting views are going to gain too much purchase.
I think you miss the point about Corbyn. It’s anti-establishment!
They, they establishment, have let us all down in one way and another, and there is a backlash everywhere you look. Brexit, Corbyn! The Donald. I note Theresa
May is in no hurry to seek a mandate for her premiership (in stark contrast to her advice to Gordon Brown when he inherited from bliar) I wonder why?
The idea that a privelleged minority can unleash inestimable suffering downstream from their mismanaged grouse moors is going to appeal to the millions who are disillusioned with our ruling elites! You need to make sure they’re fully aware. Firm briefing sounds good, it’ll be interesting to see the full plan of action.
Not sure where to post this, but after four and a half weeks, and a reminder email, I’ve finally received a reply to my original email to my MP (Karen Bradley) on the upcoming DGS debate. And, guess what, it is the standard briefing from Conservative MPs! No words changed to make it sound like her own opinions. (When I was at junior school that would have been considered to be poor form!) Anyway I am not surprised as it is what I have come to expect from her. She was first elected in 2010, after a few steps on the greasy pole she became the minister for modern slavery and has now been appointed minister for culture, media and sport. She is clearly ambitious, hence just takes the party line. I think correspondence from her constituents are a nuisance to her – we should just stop pestering her and leave her alone to get on with her job. She doesn’t say she is going to attend the debate.