Hunting row divides Gloucester candidates
Gloucester MP Parmjit Dhanda has challenged his Conservative rival to stand up against fox hunting.
However, Richard Graham, who will stand against Mr Dhanda in next year's election, says there are more important issues to worry about in Gloucester.
Mr Dhanda met this week with Hilary Benn MP, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs to sign a pledge to support the ban on fox hunting passed in 2004.
Mr Dhanda, who represents the Labour party, said: "I challenge my Tory opponent to stand up for the city and oppose plans to repeal fox-hunting. I know he is close to the Heythrop Hunt and they deliver his leaflets for him, but he should push their interests to one side and listen to the people of Gloucester instead."
Mr Graham said there were far more important issues that needed tackling.
He said: "This government is running up debts by about £365 million every day. We have a record number of young not in education, employment or training and a thousand more unemployed in the city than 1997.
"And what is the local Labour rep's response? To support a ban on fox hunting."
The row comes as Prime Minister Gordon Brown warned the fox hunting issue could lose the Conservatives the forthcoming general election.
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by sab 1, Wales
Tuesday, March 16 2010, 8:48PM
“FOR FOX SAKE DON'T VOTE TORY”
by WILLIAM EVES, PRESTON, LANCASHIRE
Monday, December 14 2009, 8:14PM
“Good! I hope that Richard Graham does support a repeal of the fox-hunting ban. The sooner that this lousy,useless Labour 'government' gets the boot the better and then we can let the Conservatives try to restore some of the traditional British values that this bunch of incompetents has destroyed.”
by Norman Bryant, west sussex
Monday, December 14 2009, 6:10PM
“To John Gloucestershire, I suppose you will want to blame me because I was born to a wealthy family this was not my choice but these things happen, obviously why would I want to get my hands dirty when I pay the wages of people like you which you should be thanking us for, if it were ot for the likes of ourselves you would be on the doll instead of having a reasonable life which is thanks to us more fortunate ones. I expect you take foriegn holidays to spain or some other working class place but hopefully you will not make it to the places I holiday as they have requirements that you would not meet.”
by john halford, gloucester not sussex
Sunday, December 13 2009, 10:54AM
“norman, you are just a tory rich supporter, and probably never got your hands dirty doing a days work in yout life. i have worked on the building all my life, so know what its like.”
by NORMAN BRYANT, west sussex
Saturday, December 12 2009, 6:27PM
“To John Halford response, everything that Labour has done hits the poor paid far worse than the better off, it surprises me that some people do not realise what a bunch of conmen the Labour Party are, John you have out of date ideas.”
by john halford, gloucester
Saturday, December 12 2009, 11:08AM
“sandra, you said
"the utter shambles and hardship this government has inflicted upon the low paid ., and how utterly out of touch they all are"
well, its seems to me to be a tory view. THE TORYS ARE FOR THE RICH, THE LABOUR PARTY IS FOR THE WORKING CLASS, if you dont understand that, what do you mean ?”
by Simon, Churchdown
Saturday, December 12 2009, 8:13AM
“Joe, that was not what I was expecting.
I do not know you or have files.
You will not hear from me again.
Hope the tooth is better.”
by Klara Sudbury, Cheltenham
Friday, December 11 2009, 10:07PM
“Fox hunting should be banned and the ban should be enforced. This is an important issue which people have strong views on and it right that politicians say what they think about it.”
by Colonel Willowby-Gore St. Johns, Wotton Lawn
Friday, December 11 2009, 9:45PM
“Stuff and Nonsense !!! I still regularly hunt every weekend, and I look resplendent in my Berkeley Yellows, what, that is until some unfortunate creature happened to get splattered all over me in a barbarous ritual of blood and class superiority, hmn? A Tally Ho Harrumph, indeed !”
by Giles, Glos
Friday, December 11 2009, 9:09PM
“Come on then Richard Graham give us an answer. Typical Tory - no backbone. It's a fairly simple question to answer (Yes or No) or is Graham too big a coward to answer?
I love the way TIG has removed both stories where the Tories can get a bit of bashing from their main news page. Both stories (this one and the expenses one) are criitical of the Tories so they both get shoved off the page. Impartial reporting from our local newspaper?! Ha, Ha!!
Instead lets have a story about some woman getting a letter from the queen!!”