Countryside Alliance

16/09/2026

Our chairman Lord Herbert of South Downs joined Sky News to discuss our new Campaign for the Countryside, which launched on Monday.

For the past two years, the rural way of life has been under attack. Two-thirds of voters now think that the government neglects rural people.

What’s needed now is a government willing to work with the countryside - not against it. We need a rural reset.

16/09/2026

"I don't care if you don't go hunting, the ban on trail hunting is your fight" - David Cameron urged rural people to stand together at our event on Monday.

15/09/2026

It's time for a rural reset.

15/09/2026

The government should listen to rural voices.

14/09/2026

It's time for a rural reset.

Find out more here: ruralreset.org

14/09/2026

We put out the call and the rural community answered in Westminster today, as we launched the Campaign for the Countryside with a series of brilliant speakers from across the political spectrum.

Thank you to both those speakers and our room full of guests, who joined us to make sure the countryside is heard and to ask the Prime Minister to commit to a rural reset.

There was a common refrain - the government needs to listen more to the voice of the countryside, in all its variants, in order to ensure an informed and productive policy direction.

Do you live in, work in or care about the countryside? We want you to get behind this campaign and make sure the voice of rural Britain is heard in Westminster. Learn more and add your voice here: https://www.ruralreset.org/ -to-your-mp

14/09/2026

Strong words from senior Labour politician, David Blunkett.

14/09/2026

Andy Burnham is being urged to reset relations with rural Britain as anger mounts at a host of Labour policies.

14/09/2026

Today's papers saying what we all know: it's time for a rural reset.

14/09/2026

The range of attacks on the countryside are unprecedented. It's time for rural people to stand together.

14/09/2026

Today’s the day.

The countryside comes to Westminster as we launch the Campaign for the Countryside, with people from across rural Britain joining David Cameron, David Blunkett and Minette Batters to make sure the countryside is heard.

This afternoon we will launch our e-lobby calling on the Prime Minister to commit to a rural reset. We want everyone who lives in, works in or cares about the countryside to get behind it and make sure the voice of rural Britain is heard in Westminster.

Follow the launch and join the conversation on social media using and find out more at: https://www.ruralreset.org/

13/09/2026

📻 We joined LBC tonight to support David Blunkett, the former Home Secretary, who has urged the government to set aside proposals to ban trail hunting.

We need a genuine reset between politicians in Westminster and rural people. His comments come ahead of the launch of our Campaign for the Countryside.

Will the government listen?

13/09/2026

📺Gundogs, sheepdogs, foxhounds and racing greyhounds went to Parliament Square this morning to greet the assembled media. It comes ahead of our Campaign for the Countryside launch tomorrow.

Senior politicians will join rural representatives from alongside an invited audience of people and organisations from across rural Britain, including leaders from the horseracing sector, farming, rural businesses, greyhound racing, shooting, hunting and angling, to offer the government a chance for a genuine reset with rural Britain.

13/09/2026

There is a strong case for reforming fi****ms licensing. But many of the recommendations in the latest report from His Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire & Rescue Services (HMICFRS) risk making a bad system considerably worse.

As Countryside Alliance Shooting Campaign Manager Roger Seddon writes in the Yorkshire Post, one recommendation gets it right: consolidating the 43 separate fi****ms licensing departments across England and Wales into one centrally administered service.

"The Countryside Alliance has campaigned for this for years and it is now gathering momentum and widespread support. It would deliver consistent and efficient licensing that keeps the public safe and provides a good service to gun owners."

But other recommendations would be "disastrous", including licensing 1.3 million shotguns in the same way as high-powered rifles.

Roger explains where the report gets it so badly wrong in his latest Yorkshire Post column ➡️ https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/opinion/columnists/a-uniform-fi****ms-licensing-service-would-be-welcomed-by-yorkshire-but-recommendations-miss-the-mark-roger-seddon-8980422

13/09/2026

New government, new start. Now is the time for Westminster to reset its relationship with the countryside.

Support growth in every postcode.

Join us at ruralreset.org

13/09/2026

In the past two years, there have been at least 27 policies announced or imposed that are harmful to the countryside and rural communities, from the Family Farm Tax and hikes to National Insurance, to proposals to restrict shooting and apply affordability checks to bets on horse racing.

With our Campaign for the Countryside launching on Monday, we are calling on the new Prime Minister and government to change course, and start working with the countryside rather than against it.

Join us and find out more here: https://www.ruralreset.org/

13/09/2026

From the family farm tax and trail hunting ban to the growing threat to shooting and racing, the government has spent the last two years picking fights with rural communities.

Now there is a chance to change course.

As our Chief Executive Tim Bonner writes, the new Prime Minister says he wants “growth in every postcode”. But one in four postcodes is rural – so how does closing down farms, shoots, hunts and racing yards deliver growth?

On Monday, we’ll be taking that message to Westminster, where senior Labour and Conservative politicians will warn the new administration about the consequences of continuing with the previous government’s approach.

Will Andy Burnham listen to the countryside?

Read Tim’s latest feature ➡️ https://bit.ly/4gQh2hU

13/09/2026

'We have found ourselves in a position where for the first time we are all under attack and we need to stand united'

Our chairman Nick Herbert in today’s Express ahead of the launch of Campaign for the Countryside tomorrow.

'We have found ourselves in a position where for the first time we are all under attack and we need to stand united'

12/09/2026

One in four postcodes in Britain is rural, and rural Britain isn't separate from the national economy - it's part of it. The countryside contributes more than £300bn a year and supports over 4 million jobs.

"Rural people are not asking government to solve every problem overnight. They are asking to be heard, understood and treated fairly," said our Chief Executive Tim Bonner to the Express.

It's time for a rural reset.

Join us at https://www.ruralreset.org/

12/09/2026

Rural Britain is bigger than you think.

1 in 4 UK postcodes. Over £300 billion contributed to the economy every year. More than 4 million jobs. 675,000 rural businesses across agriculture, tourism, manufacturing and renewable energy.

This is the countryside the Prime Minister promised to grow. It is time to work with it, not against it.

Back the countryside.

Join us at ruralreset.org

12/09/2026

Don't miss it! Hampshire Countryside Day is back tomorrow at Bereleigh Estate, in support of the Countryside Alliance and the Hampshire & Isle of Wight Air Ambulance.

With hound parades, a trail hunting demonstration, gundogs, falconry, the Inter-Hunt Scurry, 100+ trade stands, food, drink and plenty of activities to have a go at, there’s something for everyone.

We’ll be there too, so come and say hello as you enjoy a wonderful day in the Hampshire countryside!

➡️ Sunday 13 September
📍 Bereleigh Estate, East Meon
⏰ Gates open 9.30am

Get your tickets and find out more: https://www.hampshirecountrysideday.co.uk/

12/09/2026

The government’s new review into gamebird rearing, releasing and shooting is an unnecessary and unjustified attack on shooting and the rural communities that depend on it.

Shooting supports jobs, businesses and communities across the country, while the associated land management delivers important conservation benefits.

We will be responding to the Call for Evidence and making sure the government hears the case for shooting and the people and communities it supports.

11/09/2026

An unprecedented range of government policies over the past two years have left rural people feeling under attack.

If political leaders want to speak for all parts of the country, they have to hear the countryside too.

Now is the time for a rural reset.

Find out more about our Campaign for the Countryside here ➡️ https://www.ruralreset.org/

11/09/2026

Our analysis has revealed that in just two years, the government has announced or imposed 27 policies that are harmful to the countryside and rural communities.

Chief Executive Tim Bonner speaks to the Yorkshire Post about our call to the government and new Prime Minister to work with rural communities, not against them.

It's time for a rural reset.

Find out more here: https://www.ruralreset.org/