Traditionally, the Tory party have always had the support of the countryside. The hunting, shooting and fishing fraternity were solid Conservative stock – and if anyone really drove the final nail into the coffin of Labour rural vote, it was Tony Blair. The early noughties saw numerous marches through central London protesting not just about the proposed ban on hunting, but on Labour’s perceived attack on rural Britain. In fact the Countryside Alliance was formed from an amalgamation of the British Field Sports Society, the Countryside Business Group, and the Countryside Movement almost as a direct response to New Labour’s landslide victory in the 1997 General Election.
But the question now is whether the Tories are resting on their laurels where rural voters are concerned, and simply taking their votes for granted. Today saw the launch of a joint report between the Fabian Society and the Countryside Alliance, which aims to address how Labour can try to win over rural voters.
It’s true that there are some Countryside Alliance campaigns that the Labour Party are never going to get behind; after all, their recent Animal Welfare plan included plans to ‘ban the intensive rearing of game birds for shooting’, and to ‘enhance and strengthen the Hunting Act’.
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