The House of Lords is often a staid and earnest place, but on Thursday afternoon (11 June) there was something more than the familiar exchange of data points and ministerial reassurances. As peers gathered to debate the rural economy, there was an unmistakable mood of concern bordering on exasperation.

Opening proceedings, Lord Fuller (Con) painted a picture that would have been familiar to many who live and work in the countryside. Fresh from Cereals at Diddly Squat Farm, he reported that 20,000 farmers, growers and machinery dealers had been united by their deep frustration with a government they believe has lost touch with rural Britain. The countryside, he argued, has fallen victim to “ritual rural abuse”.

His intervention ranged from the Family Farm Tax and the abrupt early closure of the Sustainable Farming Incentive to attacks on the hospitality sector and what he described as “a fresh war on country pursuits”. Shooting, he warned, risks being “sidelined”, despite the jobs, conservation and community life it supports.

Viscount Goschen (Con) struck a more measured tone but delivered a similar message. Government, he said, needed to listen carefully to rural advocacy organisations and also recognise that for many people cars are a necessity, not a luxury. Rural roads, he observed, are “a disgrace”. Baroness McIntosh of Pickering (Con) spoke of a countryside that feels “distrusting and abused”, warning that many in farming and rural business simply no longer believe that the government cares about them. Lord Roborough (Con) slated the government’s proposal to ban trail hunting, “despite it being a harmless rural activity that supports jobs and brings rural communities together”.

Not every contribution came from the Conservative benches. Baroness Royall (Lab) celebrated rural entrepreneurship and opportunities in the land and nature sectors, while Lord Cameron of Dillington (Crossbench) reminded the House that the rural economy stretches far beyond agriculture and now encompasses everything from accountants and microchip manufacturers to padel courts. For the Liberal Democrats, Baroness Grender apportioned blame both to Labour and the Conservatives, which, she said, had in government created friction through the Brexit settlement and in the transition away from the old Basic Payment Scheme of agricultural subsidy.

Perhaps the most telling intervention came from the government itself. Responding on its behalf, Government Whip Lord Katz sought to reject accusations that ministers are hostile to the countryside but in doing so, acknowledged something the Countryside Alliance has long been arguing to his party. He told peers:

“Labour cares deeply about the countryside and those living and working in it, and we want to promote it. In passing, I point out that the Countryside Alliance, no less, has worked out that 190 Labour MPs represent seats that are at least in part rural. So the countryside is not ‘the other’ for the Labour Party and the Labour Government: it is part of who we are.”

Strikingly, this Labour minister not only directly cited Countryside Alliance analysis, but implicitly recognised the political reality that rural Britain is home to millions of voters and hundreds of constituencies whose interests cannot be ignored.

Lord Katz also addressed the issue that hangs heavily over many country communities. Referring to the Government's plans to ban trail hunting, he acknowledged:

“We have a manifesto commitment to ban trail-hunting, but we recognise the importance of rural pursuits to the rural economy and community life. That is why this consultation is important.”

Those words will be scrutinised carefully by the hunting community. The commitment to a ban remains, but ministers are now publicly acknowledging country pursuits as an important part of rural economies and communities. It is heartening to see longstanding Countryside Alliance campaigning cutting through at the highest levels.

By the time the debate concluded, one impression lingered. Although there remains much disagreement between peers from across the House, few disputed the growing disconnect between Westminster and the countryside. A government elected on a promise of a new relationship with rural Britain was put on notice that patience is wearing thin.