With so many really important issues needing addressing – the economy, troops in Afghanistan, nuclear power – I was amazed to read that differing policies on the fox-hunting ban may cause problems for the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.

But then I realised that it’s a very emotive subject for a lot of people and I wondered what Hedge End people think of fox-hunting and/or the ban.

The Back the Ban campaign refers to the ‘barbarity’ of allowing ‘foxes to be ripped apart at the teeth of hounds’. Lord Burns on the Support Fox Hunting website says, ‘Naturally, people ask whether we were implying that hunting is cruel... The short answer to that question is no. There was not sufficient verifiable evidence or data safely to reach views about cruelty.’

The ban on fox-hunting was brought in in February 2005 as part of Labour’s 2004 Hunting Act. Chris Huhne hasn’t had a chance to vote on this issue as he wasn’t elected until May 2005. But among the Lib Dems voting back then, 26 voted for the ban and 18 against.

Pre-election, David Cameron pledged to hold a free vote on repealing the ban, but there has been much in the papers recently about whether this will happen as it’s not a policy that featured in the Liberal Democrats’ manifesto.

Earlier I was reading in the Mail that this might cause a real problem for the coalition if agreement wasn’t reached on holding a vote on repealing the ban – if proof of the Conservatives’ determination was needed a minister for hunting has already been appointed (Jim Paice) and the first to hold such a post for decades.

But now it seems that plans for a free vote will go ahead.

So, with Labour against fox-hunting and the Conservatives pro, where exactly are the Liberal Democrats?

And how would Chris Huhne vote?

According to The Guardian, Hilary Benn the former environment secretary says that ‘the majority’ of the population supports the ban.

Is that the opinion in Hedge End?