Berkshire Hunts

The Countryside Alliance tried to use European human rights laws to overturn the ban in England and Wales. The ban was upheld by two judges on Friday but the pro-hunt group plans to appeal against the judgement. They said the ban robbed people of the right to work, destroyed businesses and ruined people's social lives. Full story

The Countryside Alliance isn't. It is not an Alliance. It is not a group of people coming together behind an idea, or a manifesto. For a more accurate picture imagine a clearing house of bitter Daily Mail housewives aligned with country-set bigots, "I'm not a racist, Geoffrey has a client who once spoke to a black man, I just think there are too many coming here". Each with a different selfish pot to bang, the pound, the darkies, the right to kill animals.
Half the reason they have failed in their aims is that each one who gets to do vox pop to camera in the street gives a different reason. Usually hog-whimperingly stupid. The other reason is that when a character like Otis Ferry pipes-up in a plummy voice, even if he has a fair point you still want to slap him about - it's unfair but there it is.

The destroying jobs argument is cute. I don't know how many people are employed in the businesses of looking after hunting dogs and making red coats and little trumpets, but I'm going to guess it's a couple of hundred, tops. Funnily enough during the miners strike, I don't remember the huntsmen coming out in solidarity for their countrymen. When Margaret Thatcher was breaking the coal industry and destroying thousands of jobs, the huntsmen were at home poring over the Telegraph pictures of strict nanny Thatcher fantasising about her sending in the SAS.