Philip Dunne, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Ludlow, attended the Midlands Game Fair at Weston ParkAttending the Midlands Game Fair at Weston Park over the weekend, Philip Dunne, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for Ludlow, commented today: "I spoke to many country people at the Game Fair who are fed up. Several like me had attended the demonstration in Parliament Square last week to show our support for the rights of minorities to pursue traditional rural activities. Tony Blair has admitted this hunting ban is purely party political - to mollify his own backbenchers ahead of the next election.

This is not about animal welfare - following a ban, more foxes will be killed, hounds will be killed, horses will be killed. For the sake of holding the Labour party together, the Government is preparing to invoke a rare Parliamentary procedure designed for constitutional and other issues of vital national import. A ban will cause more job losses in already hard pressed rural communities. It is increasingly clear that it will inflame middle England in rural areas like the Ludlow constituency.

Only the Conservatives have committed to provide a Government Bill to repeal the ban should it reach the statute book. Liberal Democrat MPs were split down the middle on this issue. I have written to our MP calling on him to raise this issue at the Liberal Democrat conference this week: can he get a pledge from the Liberal Democrats to bring back hunting if it is banned by Labour?"