Pressure Groups Project

1
Pressure Groups Project

• The Countryside Alliance

2
Type of Group

• The Countryside Alliance was formed when 3
  organisations merged in 1997 the British Field
  Sports Society, the Countryside Business Group
  and the Countryside Movement.
• Initially more of a sectional group, the
  Countryside Alliance is now viewed as a cause
  group, predominately for those who live and/or
  work in the countryside, but also for those who
  do not wish to see civil liberties threatened.

3
Membership

• 105,000 members but over 400,000 members of the
  General Public showed their support at the
  Liberty and Livelihood March on September 22,
  2002 This is a march for the people, and by the
  peopleand not simply rural people.

4
Aims

• The Countryside Alliance works for everyone
  who loves the countryside and the rural way of
  life. Through campaigning, lobbying, publicity
  and education, the Alliance influences
  legislation and public policy that impacts on the
  countryside, rural people and their activities.

5
Issues of Concern

• Food, farming and conservation
• Rural Services
• Rural Economy
• Angling
• Hunting
• Shooting
• Avian Influenza
• Moorlands

6
Finance Details

• Membership fees
• Prices range from Single membership (45) to
  Gold membership (179) although younger members
  (19 years and under) do not have to pay a
  membership fee.
• Donations
• Legacies
• Sponsored Events
• Sponsored Trek of Mt. Kilimanjaro in Tanzania to
  raise funds for the Countryside Alliance is
  scheduled for the 15th- 25th of this month -
  each participant is expected to raise around
  2000 sponsorship after covering their own costs.
  Many members of the CA represent their cause at
  other charity events, such as charity runs etc.

7
Campaign Targets

• The CAs targets are outlined in their Policy
  Jigsaw, which can be downloaded from their
  website. Many different aspects of country life
  are covered, and these are just a few of their
  policy ideas
• Education Only 1 in 3 young inner city school
  children know that their eggs come from chickens
• Beauty and Wildlife fly tipping costs the
  taxpayer 150million each year, and has
  devastating effects on the countryside, and the
  CA wants the govt. to take action.
• Environment the CA wants Gordon Brown to
  seriously review his long-term plans for
  affordable housing the CA believes that green
  and brown belt land should not be built on, and
  renovation of existing properties could provide
  an excellent alternative to mass developments.

8
Campaign Targets

• Rural Services- public transport is
  increasingly expensive due to privatisation in
  rural areasin addition, local branches of the
  Post Office are under threat.
• Rural Economy the CA has calculated that the
  average wage for a country worker is 17,400pa
  housing is therefore not affordable. The CA
  proposes that council tax from those who own
  second homes in the country should be used to
  help those on lower incomes.

9
Campaign Targets

• Country Pursuits the CAs hooked on fishing
  campaign hopes to encourage more schoolchildren
  to take up angling.
• Kate Hoey, the CAs chairwoman, has written an
  open letter to the Home Secretary (Time to Bite
  the Bullet on Gun Ban) presently, there is
  legislation that could prevent two young British
  women reaching their 2012 Olympic target shooting
  potential (they shoot with handguns.)
• There are MANY more campaign targets, and as you
  can see, they are a lot less controversial than
  banning the Ban! ..

10
This week is National Post Office Week.
National Post Office Week starts this Monday,
(the 19th) . Post
Offices are a vital amenity to rural people, and
the Countryside Alliance is worried that the
uncertain future of Post Office and the imminent
closure of certain branches will disadvantage
those who live in the countryside. The
Countryside Alliance website can direct those who
wish to support the cause to a local venue, and
the most avid supporters can go to the Methodist
Hall, Westminster on Tuesday (20th). The
Yorkshire meeting is on Friday!
11
Campaign Methods

• Marches and Demonstrations. Most famously in
  September 2002, when 407,791 marched through
  London. Other tactics include parking tractors,
  horseboxes etc outside govt. buildings, breaking
  into the House of Commons
• Poster Campaigns. over 30,000 Fight Prejudice,
  Fight the Ban correx boards were set up
  nationwide during the campaign
• Open Letters.- Kate Hoey is a fan of these,
  regularly using National Broadsheets to express
  her views.
• Publicity- So far, the CAs fight against the
  Hunt Ban has led to over 1,100 pages of newspaper
  coverage, and has spawned a spate of both
  positive and negative television reports.

12
Recent Successes and/or Failures
The CAs flagship battle is the only aspect of
its policy that has reached any sort of
conclusion Despite the CAs campaigning, the
Hunting Act of 2004, banning hunting with hounds
in England and Wales ,came into force on the 18th
of February 2005 - an obvious failure? The CA
are planning to repeal the unworkable Act, so
only time will tell whether or not the CA will
emerge victorious. In addition, Hunting,
albeit in a different form, has survived the
ban, and on Boxing Day 2006, turnout was at a
record high, with 320,000 riders taking part
across the UK. Ongoing policies will also need
time to develop, but the government may begin to
take more notice of rural residents in the
future, as they are more politically active than
their more apathetic urban counterparts the
voting turnout in rural areas was calculated at
63 at the last General Election.
13
(No Transcript)