THE Conservative government scrapped today’s scheduled vote on relaxing the Hunting Act after the SNP announced that it would oppose the changes, making defeat almost certain.

The SNP, which does not usually vote on matters affecting only England and Wales, aimed to highlight the narrowness of the Tories’ majority and show its opposition to proposals for English votes for English laws (Evel) legislation.

In a Radio 4 interview, SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon said that, following the general election, “Cameron’s government has shown very little respect to the mandate Scottish MPs have.”