Lee Skevington

I very recently wrote to the Conservative Party candidate asking him to clarify his stance on fox hunting to voters in Yeovil. I am concerned because we know that the Conservative Party have said that if elected they intend to hold a vote on repealing the hunting ban. Like so many others in Yeovil, I don’t believe in fox hunting and want to keep it banned.

The Conservative Candidate, Kevin Davis, confirmed to me that if put to a vote in which he could participate he would vote to repeal the Hunting Act. He says that he believes in animal welfare issues and does not want to revoke the act simply because he believes fox hunting must continue; he claims the act is unworkable and so therefore it must be removed. However this differs largely to his earlier argument in which he dismissed the ban because, according to him, there was no public interest in banning hunting.

The only element of his argument which has been consistent is that he wishes to get rid of the ban; him and his party are now seeking to pull the wool over our eyes. They have changed their argument so as to appear a caring and sharing party of the people worthy of government after over a decade in the wilderness.

In 2004, Mr.Davis argued that by banning the hunt we are detroying the country way of life without understanding how country life itself works. They say we must let the countryside continue as it always has because it is tradition! And of course they know that is where their vote is. He also says “a ban on hunting will lead to much more cruel and slower deaths for the foxes” because we all know in truth that a fox being torn to pieces by a pack of dogs is always fast, efficient and entirely painless.

But now that party leader ‘Dave’ Cameron is in charge Kevin Davis is painstakingly taking every effort to appear electable and as a ‘caring conservative’. As such, on fox hunting he has changed his tune and has started dancing a different dance to David Cameron’s fiddle.

Unlike the Conservative PPC, I don’t believe in preserving barbaric traditions. Fox hunting is outdated, cruel and has no place in a civilised society.

But to give the guy some credit, he is right that the hunting ban has thus far proved problematic but to say it is not enforceable is incorrect. There has been a five fold increase in prosecutions for fox hunting but we must now pursue these prosecutions even more relentlessly. We must ensure countryside policing teams have the appropriate training for putting an end to these fox hunting sessions.

The solution is not to throw the Hunting Act onto the flames and to repeal it. This would be a step backwards and certainly out of step with public opinion on hunting. The Conservative Party are clearly out of touch on this issue and would prefer to take us back to a day where it was legal for people to dress up in scarlet and tweed on a Sunday morning, jump upon their horses and kill a few foxes all in the name of fun.

Regards,

Lee Skevington
Labour PPC for Yeovil

The Conservative Candidate’s current stance; click here >>

The Conservative Candidate’s original stance; click here  >>

This week I made the decision to join striking postal workers on the picket line at the Royal Mail depot in Yeovil and I did this because of the awful treatment workers have received from Royal Mail. This strike is of the Royal Mail’s own doing and we must not blame the postal workers for taking necessary action to safeguard both their industry and their jobs.

I am disgusted that even though the Royal Mail made a profit this year of £321 million the postal workers have been threatened with a 25% pay cut; to add insult to injury Royal Mail managers have received bonuses of up to £9000. The Royal Mail has also attempted to introduce compulsory sackings by threatening to rip up the MTSF agreement. The pensions of employees are also at threat as the Royal Mail seeks to close the scheme to existing members. It is essential that the government protects the pensions of employees.

There are employees of Royal Mail who have been coerced into working more than their contracted hours against their wishes and at times without pay. In cases where workers have declined they have been threatened with removal from their duties. In the national ballot a massive 73.8% of union members claimed to have witnessed bullying and harassment from Royal Mail bosses.

Furthermore the Royal Mail has frequently failed to engage the Communcation Workers Union in the modernisation process despite promises made in 2007 to fully involve the union and their members. The union have reasonably accepted that as a result of modernisation there will be some job losses; they know this is unavoidable as the company seeks to adapt to its new place in the postal services market. The CWU have been very reasonable in offering a no-strike agreement only a few months ago which Royal Mail declined to accept.

It is clear that the Royal Mail intend to smash, undermine and bypass the union and their employees completely. They do not want to be an ethical employer or to pay their staff fairly or treat them with the respect they deserve.
 
I for one am willing to go without my mail for a few days if it means postal workers are treated fairly and without bullying, consulted over the future of their industry, paid a decent wage and keep their pension scheme. They work hard and deliver our mail all year and the very least we can do is support them in their struggle.

Regards,

Lee Skevington
Labour Parliamentary Candidate

See the link for the Yeovil Express coverage of our attenance at the postal strike.