Prior to the debate I was contacted by a number of groups and people who had also contacted the Lib.Dem MPs for Yardley and Solihull seeking their support for the Bill which contained a number of elements which had been supported by the Lib.Dems in the past. Furthermore, I was told that approaches to Caroline Spelman, who is a Minister at DEFRA, had been sympathetically received and I drove down from Birmingham on the Friday morning to vote for the Bill.
Unfortunately, the Government opposed the Bill, with the support of their Coalition partners, and neither of the two local Lib.Dem MPs, Lorely Burt and John Hemming, supported the Bill.
I very much regret the fact that the sensible and progressive proposals which were embodied in the Sustainable Livestock Bill were not allowed to be given a Second Reading so that they could at least be debated in Committee and I particularly regret the fact that in the same week when the Lib.Dem Party announced it was reneging on its pre-election promise to oppose any increase in tuition fees that they also joined with the Conservatives in blocking the Sustainable Livestock Bill.
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