NAIL-biting times at the Commons and in the countryside.

Love it or hate it, fox-hunting has been an integral part of the rural North Yorkshire fabric for centuries.

Most people have witnessed the - arguably! - impressive sight of dozens of red-jacketed hunters on horseback tearing over the fields and hedgerows. But, finally, its days appear to be numbered.

Leader of the Commons Peter Hain this week set out the timetable for a ban on hunting with hounds - and Rural Affairs Minister Alun Michael promised to use the archaic Parliament Act to bulldoze through new laws, even in the face of opposition from the House of Lords.

Hearing the news, delighted anti-hunting MPs - mostly urban-dwelling Labour MPs - yapped enthusiastically, like beagles chasing Basil Brush.

So pleased are they, magnanimous MPs are even prepared to allow the introduction of a ban to be delayed for two years.

Ministers claim this is to soften the blow for hunts-folk - giving them the chance to re-home hounds and "refocus" business, possibly into drag hunting or disposing of fallen stock.

But the pro-hunting lobby is equally adamant about the reason for the unexpected delay - one T Blair is desperate to avoid a hunt ban becoming a potentially-damaging issue in the run up to the General Election, pencilled in for next May.

The Prime Minister's success in the previous two General Elections has been because of his ability to woo mythical "middle England" - people who habit tranquil middle to large-sized towns in the shires.

But the Number 10 coterie is aware there is an acute danger in abolishing such a traditional countryside pursuit.

It could be seen as a vendetta against people in the countryside - and this could grate on middle England's sense of fair play. As many rural dwellers say: "We are not harming them, so..."

Mr Blair is also aware that more than one million people marched through London last year, demanding fairness for the countryside. This is not far short of the number who rallied against the Iraq war - and more than enough to affect the outcome of marginal seats.

All these considerations will have been on the table as Mr Blair gave the go-ahead to legislate for a hunt ban.

However, he knows he must stick to his manifesto pledge to outlaw hunting - to avoid a damaging rebellion by backbenchers. But things are not entirely clear cut.

As the old adage goes, there is many a slip twixt the cup and the lip.

And as recent events over Iraq and the inquiries into the failure to find weapons of mass destruction have shown, Mr Blair knows how to turn a potential crisis to his own advantage. For there is a sneaking suggestion that a hunting ban could contravene human rights legislation.

Assuming the hapless Tories do not defy the odds and win the next election, which would see a repeal of the hunting ban, the Countryside Alliance has already pledged to challenge anti-hunting legislation in the European courts. This is bound to take time. A legal battle would almost certainly take years to conclude. By that time, Mr Blair will probably have stepped down as PM and moved on to grander things, allowing him to wipe his hands of the whole messy business.

So the smart bet could be on a hunting ban on the Statute Book to pacify backbenchers - but a legal challenge making it completely ineffectual. And no one, surely, would bet against a solution which allows the PM to continue to ensure he does not upset anyone.

Updated: 09:08 Friday, September 10, 2004