The Countryside Alliance has called for a reset in the Government’s relationship with rural communities, claiming 27 policies introduced or announced in the past two years have hit the countryside.
The rural organisation will launch its new Campaign for the Countryside at an event in Westminster on September 14, bringing together representatives from farming, rural businesses, shooting, hunting, horseracing and angling.
Former NFU president and crossbench peer Minette Batters is among the speakers due to attend.
The Alliance has pointed to a range of policies it says have affected rural communities, including the Family Farm Tax, increases to National Insurance, affordability checks for betting on horse and greyhound racing, higher firearms licensing fees, proposed restrictions on game shooting and plans to ban trail hunting.
Some of the measures highlighted are specific to England, but the Alliance said the campaign was aimed at rural communities across Britain.
It said the countryside contributes more than £300 billion to the UK economy each year and supports more than four million jobs.
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Countryside Alliance chief executive Tim Bonner said the change of Prime Minister presented an opportunity for the Government to take a different approach to rural Britain.
He said: “After two years where an unprecedented range of government policies have left rural people feeling under attack, a new Prime Minister provides an opportunity for the government to reset its relationship with rural Britain.
“Rural people are not asking government to solve every problem overnight. They are asking to be heard, understood and treated fairly.”
The campaign is calling for rural communities to have a greater say in policies affecting them, particularly on taxation, licensing and regulation.
Bonner said the countryside should be seen as part of the solution to economic growth rather than an afterthought.
“We are asking the government to work with rural communities, not against them. Now is the time for a rural reset,” he said.
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