THE main point of this letter will become clear later so firstly let’s focus on carers who have been in the news.

Carers do an amazing job but unfortunately are not recognised as much as they should be.

They save the country a fortune and get paid a pittance.

And guess what when they reach retiring age their carers' allowance is stopped, but they still do the same caring job.

To the point, there are carers in their seventies and eighties who are struggling with their own lives as most of us do in later years, and there are carers as young as 10 years old.

The government is letting it happen. They should be ashamed.

Now the point of this letter, as I was using the caring system as one example, compared to this next point.

Outside a supermarket on a billboard and on the front page of the Stroud News & Journal MP Neil Carmichael said he would vote for the return of hunting.

He may have other important tasks so why do his hunting views make headlines. Is blood sports a higher priority than 10-year-old carers?

And why and a big why when the hunting ban has been passed should the Conservatives or anyone for that matter want to reverse it and make it legal again?

I can’t help thinking that Mr Carmichael cares more for the people involved in hunting than he does for the man on the street or for the suffering of the animals.

It doesn’t take much to work out where his loyalties lie.

You may argue it creates jobs but the same horses and dogs are still used and still need staff to care for them.

It may be it keeps the number of foxes and deer down but if this is the case, and I don’t believe it is, there are humane ways of doing things without putting the fear of God in the animal and running it near to exhaustion only to rip it apart.

These are pretty lame reasons and I don’t believe any of them. It’s down to pure pleasure of the hunt and the kill.

In other words they love blood sports and Mr Carmichael is of the same opinion.

How can an MP (Your MP, I didn’t vote for him) make hunting an important issue over 10-year-old carers.

He should be ashamed and embarrassed by his thoughts.

I would like to have David Drew back because I think he is a compassionate man who believes in the welfare of people and animals alike, where in the 21st century all suffering of life should cease.

Labour took one step forward in banning hunting and the Conservatives want to take two steps back into history once again.

Think carefully. We are slowly doing a ‘U’ turn when the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

Like in the Edwardian days we will soon be tipping our forelocks when the ‘gentry’ go by. Well some might. I won’t.

By the way I’ve been a full time carer for 14 years so both these issues are very close to my heart.

N Critchley

Stonehouse