A new poll reveals more than two thirds of voters think that the Labour government neglects rural people and doesn’t care about them.
It comes as tens of thousands of people are expected to turn up in support of hundreds of festive Boxing Day trail hunt meets taking place up and down the country today, under the shadow of a proposed ban on the activity.
In a poll of more than 2,000 people, trail hunting was not mentioned once when asked what the government should be prioritising.
The poll, conducted by ORB for the Countryside Alliance, found that two in three voters (65%) think the Labour government unfairly neglects those living in the countryside and does not care about those that live there (64%).
According to the poll, 76% believe that the government prioritises urban issues over rural issues.
The government has faced enormous criticism and huge protests over the past year for anti-rural policies including the Family Farm Tax and the controversial sudden closure of the SFI scheme.
On Tuesday 23 December the government was forced to make partial changes to the unpopular policy – raising the threshold for Agricultural Property and Business Property relief from £1m to £2.5m. Rural campaigners say the move is a "a step in the right direction” but warn “there is more damaging policy coming down the line” for farmers and the countryside.
The new Animal Welfare Strategy announced on Monday 22 December, which outlines the government's plans to ban legal trail hunting as well as a ban on colony cages for laying hens and farrowing creates for sows under a flagship animal welfare strategy also encountered fierce opposition, with it being branded the latest “attack on the countryside” by the Countryside Alliance.
Farming groups fear domestic producers could be undercut by cheaper imports from countries where the practices remain legal. Additionally, the ORB poll has shown that focusing on trail hunting is completely out of line with the priorities of voters.
When asked what the government's top priorities should be, not a single respondent mentioned a ban on trail hunting. The public’s top priorities were the economy (36%), immigration/asylum/ borders (17%) and health/social care (15%).
Trail hunting, introduced to comply with the Hunting Act 2004, involves a scent being sprayed onto a rag which is then dragged across the countryside by a human for the hounds to search for and then follow using their noses. It replicates traditional hunting methods, but live animals are no longer being pursued.
Campaigners say hunts contribute more than £100 million a year to the rural economy and form part of the social fabric of rural Britain.
Tim Bonner, Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance, said:
"When Keir Starmer said that he ‘wanted a new relationship with the countryside’ we all assumed he meant a better one, but in 18 months his government has alienated rural people and created the clear impression that it does not care about the countryside.
“Its warped priorities have put taxing family farms, raising rates for rural businesses and banning trail hunting above policies that would benefit rural people.
“While the partial changes to the family farm tax are a step in the right direction, the government must desperately learn the fundamental lesson of this policy debacle, which is that it needs to work with the rural community - not legislate against it. The government has a very long way to go to rebuild trust”.