The Countryside Alliance has urged the Government to urgently reset its relationship with the countryside, 20 years after the Hunting Act came into force under the then Labour Prime Minister Tony Blair.
The warning comes in the wake of a growing breakdown of confidence between rural campaign groups and the Government following controversial changes to inheritance tax on family farms as well as proposals to restrict access to shotguns.
Twenty years ago, on 18 February 2005, the Hunting Act came into force across England and Wales. The process leading to the passing of the Hunting Act was long, complex, and politically charged. It involved numerous private members' bills, and was also the focus of an independent inquiry commissioned by the then Labour government and subject to over 700 hours of parliamentary debate.
It also led to one of the largest demonstrations - the Liberty and Livelihood march - against a government policy in living memory. Writing in his memoirs in 2010, Tony Blair said that the Hunting Act is 'one of the domestic legislative measures I most regret'.
Despite a thin offering of rural policies, Labour put hunting back on the political agenda with a commitment to “ban trail hunting” in its recent election manifesto.
The Government has since committed to end the practice, which involves dragging a scent-infused rag across the countryside for hounds to follow, prompting warnings that it risks further fuelling tensions with rural voters in the wake of backlash against the Budget changes to inheritance tax for farms.
Tim Bonner, the Countryside Alliance’s Chief Executive, said the Government should not waste hours more of parliamentary time re-opening the hunting issue. He said:
“It is wrong to for the Government to prioritise hunting, an issue which is irrelevant to the vast majority of the population, further souring its relationship with the rural community and losing the new Labour MPs it worked so hard to get elected in the countryside”.
Ignoring the lessons of history is not wise and the new Labour government has already launched itself into a battle with the countryside over inheritance tax on farms and wants to restrict access to shotguns, a vital tool for farmers and rural workers.
If the Government wants to avoid further fanning flames in the countryside, it would be wise to focus on prioritising issues that will actually help rural communities, rather than divide them”.
At the General Election, Labour picked up over 80 parliamentary constituencies with significant rural populations, albeit with shallow majorities.
Recent polling commissioned by the Countryside Alliance from ORB revealed more than half of people (54%) believe the Prime Minister is performing poorly on his commitment to “restore the bond of respect” between Labour and the countryside.
This rises to two thirds (66%) of those in rural villages and more than three quarters (76%) living in hamlets or isolated houses.
The poll asked 2,077 members of the public for the top three priorities that they want the Government to address.
There was only one mention of hunting out of 6,049 responses. Respondents were then asked to rank the importance of ten current issues as they would impact on their vote and trail hunting was the least important – significantly lower than all other issues cited. The NHS took the top spot with 83% of the vote, followed by controlling immigration (57%) and defence spending (32%).
Last week, Labour announced it is considering a crackdown on access to shotguns in a move that could hit farmers and rural communities. The Home Office is to consult on tougher licensing conditions for the UK’s 600,000 shotgun owners that could make them as restrictive as those for owners of high powered rifles.
Countryside campaigners fear it would amount to another attack on farmers and rural workers by making shotgun ownership more expensive, limited and bureaucratic.