'huge, queer and tawdry' but 'much admired by the public'

Having got in with lots of talk of a new Britain, a third way and all that fluffy stuff, the hunting ban was an ugly exercise in old-school Labour tribalism and toff-bashing, which went a fair way in eroding any chance of building a genuine new consensus - and, judging by the rise in attendance at these meets, served even to alienate the previously undecided.