this explains a lot

so tony's finally done it.
the british parliament just banned fox hunting in england.

this is big. after all the british upper classes wouldn't be where they are today if they hadn't gone out on the weekend with daddy and his pals and shot a few rabbits and foxes.

putting class struggle, animal rights and country/urban population tensions aside, the way this bill was passed is far more revealing about the british psyche than understanding the english country gentleman's fetish for breeches and jodhpurs.

it was all because of the parliament act of 1949.

bit of background (although i recommend you go here to get the full picture.)

parliamentary bills in the uk can only be passed if they are approved by the house of commons and the house of lords. the house of commons is made up of 659 members of parliament who are voted in by their constituents - the electorate - the public. the house of lords is made up of life peers (appointed by the queen) and heriditary peers although thanks to recent reforms only a small percentage can still vote.

in order to curb the house of lords' ability to keep a bill from being passed the parliamentary act of 1949 was introduced. this means that in the case of most commons bills (excluding financial stuff), the lords can hold up a bill they disagree with for about a year but ultimately the elected house of commons can reintroduce it in the following session and pass it without the lords’ consent.

before thursday, the 1949 parliament act had been used only three times:
1) to allow british courts to try nazis suspected of war crimes (1991)
2) to change the electoral system for selecting representatives to the european parliament (1999)
3) to lower the age of consent for homosexual sex (2000)

and now its been used a fourth time to ban foxhunting.

so the way i understand it... britain's elite feel most threatened by animals, gays, jews or europe

nice...