Tally-No! – Poll shows majority of public view anti hunt politicians more favourably

30 September 2016: Any attempt to repeal the Hunting Act by the Conservative party would be deeply unpopular amongst the majority of the British public, including the party’s own supporters, voters in Andrea Leadsom’s and Theresa May’s constituencies and marginal Conservative constituencies, new polls and data projections reveal.

A new Ipsos MORI poll1 commissioned by animal welfare charity the League Against Cruel Sports revealed 84% of the public do not want a return to fox hunting and 65% would view an election candidate more favourably if they supported keeping hunting with dogs illegal compared with only 9% who would view a candidate more favorably if they supported making hunting with dogs legal again.

Opposition to hare hunting and deer hunting was even stronger, at 91% and 88% respectively. Findings also revealed that almost five times as many Conservative supporters would view a candidate who supports the Act more favourably as would view one who wanted to make hunting with dogs legal again more favourably, and people in rural areas are more likely to view anti-hunt politicians favourably than those living in urban areas (71% to 64%).

In addition, new figures revealed by the charity show that opposition to legalising the ‘sport’ of hunting wild animals with dogs is at an all-time high. Key figures show:

•    Large majorities of the public oppose making fox hunting (84%), deer hunting (88%), and hare hunting (91%) legal again.
•    In rural areas support for the ban on fox hunting was also high, at 82%
•    Support among Conservative supporters for the ban on fox hunting has risen sharply. It is now at 73%, having risen from 64% in 2013, 66% in 2014, and 70% in 2015

League Against Cruel Sports CEO, Eduardo Gonçalves said:“Today’s polling highlights just how out of touch any move to repeal the hunting ban would be with the views held by the majority of the British public – including Conservative voters.

“The overwhelming view of electorates is that they do not want their parliamentary representatives supporting repeal. Andrea Leadsom must accept this. Theresa May has previously warned of the risk of the Conservative Party being seen as the ‘nasty’ party, but the fact that so many Conservative MPs and their party members today are opposed to hunting suggests that the party is much more in line with the British public on this. Any move by Andrea Leadsom to bring back hunting would very much be going against the current Conservative tide.”

Based on previous research, the charity estimates the vast majority of Labour and Liberal Democrat MPs would vote against repeal while at least 50 Conservative MPs have spoken out publically against hunting.

Marginals at risk?

Findings from specific polling carried out in four marginal constituencies across the country have shown voters would view their parliamentary candidate more favourably if they supported keeping hunting with dogs illegal.

•    In Bolton West, 73% would view candidates more favourably if they supported keeping the ban
•    In Nuneaton, 68% would view candidates more favourably if they supported keeping the ban
•    In Thanet South, 74% would view candidates more favourably if they supported keeping the ban
•    In Yeovil, 63% would view candidates more favourably if they supported keeping the ban

In three of the marginal constituencies polled – Bolton West, Nuneaton, and Thanet South – more than 80% of the public supported keeping the ban on hunting for foxes, deer, and hare. In the Conservative/Liberal Democrat marginal of Yeovil in the South West, 74% supported the ban on fox hunting, rising to 85% for both deer and hare hunting.

Nationwide opposition

Further, to understand how voters viewed the hunting ban in constituencies across England and Wales, Ipsos MORI used ONS data and 2015 voting patterns to produce projections from the national poll to show how people might think in a specific constituency (assuming that their views are similar to the views of people with similar demographic characteristics in the national poll, and not allowing for any specific local circumstances).

These projections and regional analysis of the GB poll itself indicated that the great majority of people examined across the country were likely to be in favour of keeping the ban on fox hunting. These include Andrea Leadsom’s constituency. (South Northamptonshire) 81%, Theresa May’s (Maidenhead) 80% and David Cameron’s former constituency (Witney) 81%, as well as the constituencies of Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) 88% and Green Party joint leader Caroline Lucas (Brighton Pavilion) 87%.

Mr Gonçalves said: “The Hunting Act made hunting wild animals with dogs for sport illegal, protecting a number of animals including foxes, hare, and deer. Not only would a move to legalise the cruel sport be potentially detrimental to the animals the law protects, but as today’s polling makes clear – would make no sense politically.

“The British public have a settled view on this. Even if English Votes for English Laws (EVEL) was used in an attempt to bring back hunting and SNP MPs were somehow prevented from voting, the majority of MPs will vote against repeal. It is time for Andrea Leadsom to join the rest of the country and support the hunting ban.”