Green Party & angling

[John Lock]

The Green Party's Animal Rights Policy AR412 (below) remains unchanged after their Spring Conference. There were hopes that it would be amended, or even removed. For some reason I can't get back into the www.greenparty.org.uk website, so I can't even find out if AR412 was even debated or not. Does anyone know if it was?

AR412 The Green Party is opposed to angling as a bloodsport. We will ban livebaiting which is inherently cruel. The Green Party will ban the use of all lead shot / weights used by anglers which are harmful to many other forms of wildlife. The Party will promote the voluntary cessation of angling through public education programmes.

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

Sounds like the Labour Party too.

And you people will still go one voting for them!!

 

[Peter Jacobs]

Well Ron, the other option is the Lib Dems.

Now their leader, (who represents a Scottish Constituency) even voted in favour of the ban on Hunting in ENGLAND & WALES!

Even the SNP's had the good grace to abstain!

Not quite sure if even Charles Kennedy himself saw the supreme irony in that move!

Just think, these are the people that we entrust the well being of our Country to.

 

[jp]

Ron, can you point me in right direction for where the Labour party has said anything remotely similar.

If the Tories thought there were a few votes to be had they would ban it tomorrow.

 

[John Lock]

It's all very well arguing about what the Labour and Tory parties might, or might not, do. The fact is that neither of them pose a threat to angling at the moment. Whereas the Green Party most definitely does. The Tories aren't the sort of party that would ban angling, too many of their supporters do it. The same goes for Labour as angling, at least coarse and sea angling, is a working class sport (in the main). Besides, I think Labour regrets mightily the problems that the hunting ban has brought on their heads - I doubt they'd have the stomach to invite even more (much more) grief by trying to ban angling.

 

[Ron Troversial Clay]

JP,

I do not trust the Labour Party nor the Lib Dems with the fututre of angling. Without going into too much detail here I will mention the BBC.

Although I did not live in the UK then, I believe angling programmes on TV stopped when the Labour Party came into power in 1997.

The great angling programmes of the past, ie: "Passion for Anging" only existed when the Tories were in power.

And the Labour Party controls the BBC does it not?

 

[John Lock]

Maybe I jumped the gun with the Greens. Their AGM and conference is 21-24 October at Weston Super Mare. Their earlier, Spring, conference might have been too soon for angler's objections to AR412 to have got through. We'll see, though reading the 'subjects to be debated' list, there's no mention of angling.

 

[jp]

Passion for Angling was made when it was made and that's when it was shown on terrestrial TV, politics has nothing to do with it either then or now.

Have you checked for Reds under the bed lately Ron.

 

[Beedz]

To be fair, most politicians will do anything they think will give them another few votes (being harsh there I know). With this in mind, as anglers we just need to make sure our collective voice is heard by the politicians. I'm not sure how many voting age anglers there are in the country, but it would surely be enough to scare a political party to death?

 

[Jeff (Cheeky Monkey) Woodhouse]

It's amazing. Years ago I knew a John Lock who was a member of the Liberal Party and when they merged with the SDP to become the Liberal Democrats he joined the Green Party. He stood in local and general elections for the Greens.

To be honest, he was a decent chap and never had a problem with anglers. He was mad keen on butterflies - and killed them to mount them occasionally.

I don't suppose for one minute you are the same John Lock, unless you like butterflies.

)

 

[John Lock]

No, not me. I've never been a member of any political party or collected butterflies. Was he from the midlands?