A Labour minister has warned that the countryside could become a battleground at the next general election, claiming the far-Right will promote a nostalgic vision of Britain built around warm ale, rural pubs and black Labradors.
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, the nature minister, made the remarks at a fringe meeting during Labour’s conference in Liverpool. She said she was worried about how rural issues and the countryside might be used politically.
“This is one of the things I do stay awake at night about, and think about, and fear,” the Suffolk Coastal MP told party members.
She said Labour needed to set out its own approach to nature and rural communities, warning that the next election could be fought over “a battle line of nature and rural affairs”.
“There’ll be the far-Right deciding and determining what that looks like,” she said, adding that it would be “a vision, a nostalgic vision of Britain, that never really existed”.
Ms Riddell-Carpenter described the imagined scene as “warm ale, a black Labrador by your feet in a pub that doesn’t exist”, alongside symbolism associated with fox hunting. She said Labour wanted to offer a “progressive vision for the countryside”.
However, figures cited in response suggest that some elements of the picture she dismissed remain widespread. About 9.5 million people live in rural settlements, representing roughly 17 per cent of the population, according to the 2021 Census.
The Labrador was also the most registered dog breed in the UK last year, with almost 30,000 new additions to Royal Kennel Club records. That was nearly four times the number of French bulldogs registered.
The remarks prompted a rebuke from Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake, who represents the rural constituency of Thirsk and Malton in North Yorkshire.
“Labour think the countryside, the pub, the dog and the people who love them are far-Right,” he said.
Mr Hollinrake accused Labour of taxing pubs “out of existence” and said almost two were closing each day. He added: “That is a far more pressing cause of insomnia.”
“Conservatives will always stand up for rural Britain, for the pub, the farm, the countryside, and most importantly, the people who keep them going,” he said, calling for Andy Burnham to make the minister apologise.
Labour is also pursuing a further crackdown on trail hunting. The Countryside Alliance says the activity contributes £100 million to the rural economy each year and supports up to 1,000 jobs.
