Fox hunting, polls put Blair under pressure
British Prime Minister Tony Blair is nursing a double setback after
lawmakers voted overwhelmingly to ban fox hunting with dogs in England
and Wales, and a poll showed he has lost the public's trust.

Against the Labour Government's wishes, lawmakers backed a total ban on
fox hunting by 362 votes to 154, a majority of 208.

The defeat came just hours before a poll in the Financial Times revealed

two thirds of voters do not trust the British leader.
The loss of public trust comes as Mr Blair stands accused of
deliberately exaggerating evidence that Iraq had weapons of mass
destruction in order to win support for going to war alongside the
United States.
The defeat over fox hunting followed a dramatic turn of events in
Britain's lower House of Commons.
Mr Blair's Government had intended for lawmakers to vote on proposals to

ban stag hunting and hare coursing while allowing fox hunting under
licence.

However, following a stormy Commons debate lasting more than five hours,

the Government withdrew its proposals at the eleventh hour, allowing
lawmakers the opportunity to vote on an outright ban to fox hunting.

The issue has pitted animal rights activists against countryside
dwellers who see their way of life under threat.
"Tonight they (Labour) lost control of their own party," the Opposition
Conservatives' spokesman on the environment, David Lidington, said.

"Even (Deputy Prime Minister) John Prescott gave two fingers to Tony
Blair and voted for a ban.

"The Government has got itself into an almighty mess, the Prime Minister

has no one to blame but himself."

Despite the vote in the Commons, the upper House of Lords - a bastion of

the pro-hunt lobby - is expected to vote against an outright ban, as it
did in an earlier vote in 2001.

In a separate blow for Mr Blair, a Mori poll in the Financial Times
showed 66 per cent of British voters do not trust him, including 38 per
cent since the start of the year.

Elsewhere, 30 per cent said they "strongly agree" that Mr Blair is
losing his grip while 33 per cent tend to agree.

Only 31 per cent said they were satisfied with Mr Blair's performance as

Prime Minister, against 61 per cent who were not.