The Scottish National Party's decision to vote against plans to relax England's fox-hunting laws directly contradicts declarations made by the Scottish first minister, Nicola Sturgeon, just five months ago.
Under the plan, hunting with large packs of hounds would again be lawful, rather than just the two hounds that can currently be used – but the quarry would still have to shot, not killed by the dogs.
Faced with the decision of 56 SNP MPs to vote against, the Conservative government has abandoned its plans to put the matter to a vote in the House of Commons today, saying that it was postponed until after the summer break.
Prime minister David Cameron took fright in the face of a Commons defeat, since Labour had already decided that it was voting against, while a significant number of Conservatives were planning to do so as well, or else not be present for the vote.
Traditionally, the SNP has not voted on legislation that has affected England only, although it has retained the right to vote on such questions if they affect public spending because of the knock-on effects on Scottish spending.
Defending the SNP’s decision to reverse its long-standing policy, SNP leader and Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon said Mr Cameron “has shown very little respect to Scottish MPs” since the election, proceeding with “unconstitutional” changes to MPs’ voting rights in the teeth of objections.
The decision to vote on fox- hunting has provoked glee within the SNP's ranks, since it infuriates Conservatives and increases pressure on Mr Cameron to go even further on extra powers for English MPs – which will fuel demands in Scotland for independence.
However, the Democratic Unionist Party has expressed bemusement at Mr Cameron’s decision to abandon the fox-hunting vote, saying it was prepared to negotiate support for the change “as long as they’re serious about it”.
“Their reading of the numbers surprised us – the mood yesterday had been that the numbers were there [to get the hunting vote through] and we’re not sure why they have taken fright this morning.
"The SNP were always going to do this. It would be a great pity if through loose talk some on the government benches too readily played into their hands," one party source told the London Times.
For now, it is unclear how the matter can ever pass a Commons vote, if the SNP maintains its position, since Mr Cameron’s plans to give English MPs greater powers over English legislation, No 10 acknowledged, would not cover matters such as fox-hunting.
In February, Ms Sturgeon specifically excluded English fox-hunting from SNP concerns. “The SNP have a longstanding position of not voting on matters that purely affect England – such as fox-hunting south of the border, for example – and we stand by that.”
The decision to abandon the fox-hunting vote emerged within minutes of a delayed cabinet office paper, which outlined changes to Mr Cameron’s “English votes for English laws” plans, which had to be amended in the face of MPs’ opposition last week.
In this, greater clarity was offered to deal with a long list of complaints from the Democratic Unionists, including fears that Northern Ireland’s voice on budgets and financial issues could be diminished. Instead, the British government has said that the committee stages of such Bills will be dealt with by English or English and Welsh, “but also English, Welsh and Northern Ireland MPs where relevant”.
While all MPs would vote on final budget divisions, for example, votes on income tax rates and thresholds outside of Scotland could exclude Scottish MPs, because such powers are being devolved to Edinburgh.
