Boxing Day hunts, and another broken promise...

Christmas Day has come and gone, and that can only mean one thing - Boxing Day hunts.

Seven years on from what was possibly the most hateful, class-prejudice driven piece of legislation on the statute books, certainly in living memory, traditional Boxing Day hunts go from strength to strength. 2012 saw over a quarter of a million people attending over 300 hunts across the length and breadth of the country, from Cornwall to Cumbria, from Norfolk to North Wales (including more than 6,000 in attendance at the Heythrop Hunt - despite the recent criminal waste of £327,000 by the RSPCA in its ongoing persecution of hunters and hunting).

But the news is not all good. Speaking to the Telegraph, Environment Secretary Owen Paterson appeared to rule out the promised vote to repeal the Hunting Act.

Well, there's a surprise.

The Conservative manifesto, for what it is worth, stated (on page 80): "The Hunting Act has proved unworkable. A Conservative government will give Parliament the opportunity to repeal the Hunting Act on a free vote, with a government bill in government time."

Whilst this was a much woolier commitment than many of us had hoped, and was given far less prominence than we'd hoped for - tagged on as an afterthought, the final paragraph in the chapter 'Restore our civil liberties' - it was a commitment nevertheless.

However, hopes of a repeal appear to have been dashed for the foreseeable future.

Owen Paterson said, "At the moment, it would not be my proposal to bring forward a vote we were going to lose. There needs to be more work done on Members of Parliament."  He went on: "It is our clear intention to have a free vote but we need to choose an appropriate moment."

Of course, this would seem to be a sensible stance to take. But are we honestly expected to believe that whilst a free vote could not be won in 2013, it may in 2014? Doesn't really seem plausible, does it?

It is, however, perfectly reasonable to point out that Parliament has more pressing issues to be grappling with at present than repealing the Hunting Act, however badly drafted a piece of legislation it may be. I am inclined to agree.

But that's a much more difficult pill to swallow when David Cameon can dedicate no small amount of time to trying to alienate an entire generation of small- and large-C conservatives to impose a wholesale redefinition of marriage, despite it not being in the manifesto of any major political party, and with not even its supporters seeking to claim it a priority.

So we must continue to live in hope for what 2013 may bring, but I cannot claim to be hopeful. After all, when neither party manifestos nor coalition agreements appear to be worth spit, you will forgive me if I don't hold my breath.