تاريخ أرشيفي
Woods, Michael. 2005. Contesting Rurality: Politics in the British Countryside. Aldershot : Ashgate Publishing Limited. P103-105 - 'The first Countryside Rally was held on 27 July 1997, a date selected as the first opportunity on which a private members bill to ban hunting could have been presented to a parliament elected on 1 May. Over 120,000 people attended the rally in Hyde Park, brought from across the country by 924 chartered coaches and 12 chartered trains. The rally was addressed by a collection of politicians, writers, celebrities and representatives of field sports organisations, and was followed by the presentation of a petition to Downing Street. The rally was also the end-point for 149 long-distance marchers who had followed five routes from Machynlleth and St Clears in Wales, Caldbeck in Cumbria, Coldstream in Scotland and Penzance in Cornwall, wearing t-shirts and sweatshirts with the slogan ‘Listen to Us’ (Hart-Davis, 1997). In broad terms, therefore, the strategy behind the Countryside Rally proved remarkably successful. Not only had the event attracted one of the largest crowds of recent years, but it gained extensive media attention. Over 300 television and radio interviews were given from the rally and several pages of coverage were achieved in most national newspapers (George, 1999). Furthermore, although hunting featured prominently in the speeches given to the rally, the media largely represented the demonstration as a ‘countryside’ protest, not just as a pro-hunting protest. The political impact was two-fold: it forced concessions from the government, particularly with-holding government time in parliament from an anti-hunting bill, and it placed rural issues at the heart of the political agenda. // The momentum was maintained by the Countryside March on 1 March 1998. The date was once again significant, this time corresponding with the report stage of Michael Foster’s private member’s bill on hunting, but encouraged a change in format. As Janet George recalls, ‘Park authorities would not permit a Rally in Hyde Park during the winter months, and standing around for hours on wet or icy ground would be too unpleasant to contemplate anyway’ (George, 1999, p. 140). Instead the 250,000 participants marched through central London from Embankment Station to Hyde Park, where they were counted and dispersed without speeches. The message of the march was hence conveyed through the placards carried by participants and deposited at the entrance to the park. Although most related to hunting, a minority alluded to other issues including the agricultural slump (see chapter six), housing development and the closure of rural services. As such they exhibited the tension that ran throughout the organization of the marches between the desire to engage with a range of rural issues and the core motivation of hunting. Janet George, in her account of the march, recalls the deliberate meshing together of these concerns: // Michael Foster’s bill was the focus for the March, but the ‘countryside’ theme was promoted al the way. Access and the risks of a statutory ‘right to roam’ were coming up for debate, and farmers’ problems were escalating. With hunting completely dependent on the goodwill of farmers and landowners, it was an excellent opportunity for a huge display of unity. (George, 1999, p. 145). // A further march was planned for 2001, but cancelled due to the Foot and Mouth crisis. In September 2002, the Countryside Alliance organized its third major London demonstration with the Liberty and Livelihood March. With over 400,000 participants, the march not only exceeded the size of the previous events, but also demonstrated the increased professionalism and sophistication of the Alliance as well as the increasing militancy of its supporters, as discussed later in this chapter. Whereas the earlier demonstrations had kept away from parliament, the two routes of the Liberty and Livelihood March, starting at Hyde Park Corner and Tower Hill respectively, converged on Whitehall and Parliament Square, with a strategically positioned media platform ensuring that the marchers were filmed dispersing in the shadow of Big Ben. Both the 1998 and 2002 marches were preceded by the lighting of beacons around the country, providing the media with striking images and contributing to publicity in the build-up to the marches that ensured several days of news coverage. Similarly, the distribution of plastic signs promoting the marches around the country reinforced the impression of the ‘countryside coming to town’. // The ability of the Countryside Alliance to organize three major public protests in London demonstrated both its rapid emergence as one of Britain’s leading pressure groups and the substantial financial and professional resources at its disposal. The 1997 rally cost £436,810 to organize, the 1998 march, £450,071 and the 2002 march, £327,444 (George, 1999; Countryside Alliance, 2003). Whilst the Countryside Rally made a loss, the cost of the two later marches was more than covered by donations, although the Countryside Alliance as a whole operates in deficit.'