Countryside Alliance

Why Take Any Notice Of It?

The Countryside Alliance was created in March 1997[1] to oppose an anticipated ban on hunting with dogs under the New Labour government. It should never have been any more than a pro-hunt group of minimal importance to anyone not interested in the debate, but its appearance coincided with an accelerating crisis in farming and rural communities generally, and it has been able to capitalise on this to gain support among a much wider audience than just hunting enthusiasts. Repeatedly, strategies to disguise the core interests of the Alliance have been put into place, with the result that they have gradually become more and more acceptable to the media and the public, and have begun to be taken quite seriously by many as an authoritative voice on rural issues, even those with which they have little connection, for example social exclusion. These strategies have included:

   * a gradual change of board members and key figures to move the peers and large landowners to more behind-the-scenes roles,
   * the appointment of some non-hunting officers to give the impression of being a broad-based movement with all rural issues at its heart,
   * infiltration of organizations such as the National Trust and RSPCA, in order to make hunting acceptable among more people, but also to narrow the gap between the Alliance’s own position and the position taken by organizations which are deemed by large numbers of the public to be respectable and moderate.

In spite of this, the Countryside Alliance is making some noise about what is undoubtedly a very serious problem – the decay of rural communities - and some appear to be of the opinion that in the absence of large-scale alternatives, they should merely be steered more in this direction instead of being opposed altogether. However, the Countryside Alliance cannot be part of the solution as it is part of the problem.

The Countryside Alliance should be opposed for several reasons:

   * Its staff have several conflicts of interest (see below) including links with corporations involved in accelerating rural decay.
   * Obviously, it supports hunting and other cruel sports.
   * It claims to care about all aspects of rural life, yet its structure, origins, membership and staff suggest otherwise: It remains an organization to defend field sports. (See below)
   * It claims to speak for ‘the countryside’. In fact, it speaks for the leisure interests of the landed gentry and assorted business people.
   * Its proclamations about how hard times are for rural people are fairly shameless considering the role that landowners and business people have played in making sure that times stay as hard as possible for the peasantry.
   * Its funding and investments show a high degree of hypocrisy (see below)

What Is The Countryside Alliance, Exactly?

The Countryside Alliance is, formally, an amalgamation of three groups: the British Field Sports Society, the Countryside Movement and the Countryside Business Group, but it is the name "British Field Sports Society Investments Ltd." which appears in the annual accounts, alongside "Countryside Alliance"[2], suggesting that the amalgamation may not have taken place on very equal terms..

Indeed, the Countryside Movement and Countryside Business Group appear only to have been formed to support field sports. According to a briefing prepared for the CPHA, the Countryside Business Group was at first called the Country Sports Business Group, but changed its name after only a few weeks[3]. It was founded by American-born corporate lawyer Eric Bettelheim with the aim of raising funds to protect field sports.

Bettelheim is qualified to practice law in both the UK and the USA, and is a consultant for Mishcon de Reya, where his Countryside Alliance chum John Jackson is also employed. According to Bettelheim’s potted biography on the Mishcon De Reya website, he specialises in the regulation of financial institutions, derivatives, managed funds, cross-border transactions, commercial disputes arbitration, venture and development capital. He is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and he is the author of over 40 publications and principal editor of three texts dealing with swaps, futures and commodity products, none of which seems to suggest that he has the concerns of the rural poor at heart[4]. His approach to fundraising seems to have been quite unsuccessful: The Countryside Business Group aimed to persuade businesses which would be threatened by the demise of bloodsports to donate a percentage of their annual turnover to the cause of defending them, as well as imposing a voluntary national game levy, for example £1 per salmon or 27 p per driven bird kept[5]. The CBG fell well short of its fundraising targets, however. Perhaps the irony of some of Britain’s richest people trying to solicit protection money from small businesses and individuals was not lost on those who did not pay up.

The Countryside Movement was founded in November 1995, supposedly as a group to campaign on rural issues other than bloodsports. Sir, now Lord, David Steel was its first chairman, and received £93752 for his efforts[6]. His position on hunting was mixed:

"If I were confronted with an opinion poll and asked to tick a box to approve or disapprove hunting, I would have to say that I disapprove,but that is not the point. The point is whether I use my vote in the House of Commons to ban an activity in which I personally do not wish to take part when others might use their votes to ban activities in which I do wish to take part."[7]

Angling, for example[8].

Other leading lights in the Countryside Movement were more directly in favour of hunting. At the first two inaugural meetings, those present included Max Hastings, editor of the London Evening Standard (a keen shooter and angler, and Vice President of the Game Conservancy Trust)[9], Earl Peel, Chairman of the Game Conservancy Trust; the Duke of Westminster, then President of the Game Conservancy Trust and the British Association for Shooting and Conservation; and Hugh Van Cutsem, shoot owner and head of the Countryside Business Group (CBG). The Countryside Movement’s Board of Directors also included Robin Hanbury-Tenison OBE, then Chief Executive of the British Field Sports Society and John Swift, then Chief Executive of the British Association of Shooting and Conservation[10].

The most obvious influence of the BFSS and the Countryside Business Group on the Movement came from funding. Any pretence that the Countryside Movement was a separate body totally disappears with the revelation that the CBG provided £550 000 towards the set-up and development of the organisation and that the BFSS provided £250 000[11]. In addition, the Movement’s main activity, other than advertising itself, seems to have been collecting people’s names and addresses for its database. This was done in a fairly underhand manner, with National Farmers’ Union members’ addresses being passed on without their knowledge or consent. Not only that, but the Countryside Movement had registered the BFSS as a recipient of its database, even though many were no doubt against hunting and had joined up because of concern at the state of the countryside in general[12].

Looking at these groups, one can see the pattern emerging which continues today in the Countryside Alliance. Early on, it was realised that there was a lot of mileage to be gained from taking advantage of the very real problems of rural areas to get widespread support, yet the high concentration of bloodsports enthusiasts within the upper echelons of the organizations meant that issues other than bloodsports would always be sidelined.

The Countryside Alliance has made quite serious attempts to present itself as an organization which is much wider than bloodsports, but a look at its structure reminds us that the changes have been largely cosmetic. Its departments are as follows:

	Telephone

PR 020 7840 9220 Membership 01672 519490 Political 020 7840 9260 Policy 020 7840 9250 Campaign for Hunting 020 7840 9210 Foresight: Campaign for Shooting 020 7840 9235 Campaign for Falconry 020 7840 9200 Gone fishing: Countryside Alliance initiative for Angling 020 7840 9274 Country Sports & Political Hotline 07774 236101 Honest Food: Campaign for Independent Food 020 7840 9219

www.countryside-alliance.org/membership/contact.htm

The arrangement of this table is quite telling - PR, then bloodsports, then a rather feeble and belated food campaign. Its departmental contact details betray a distinct bias towards bloodsports, with the campaigns apparently not devoted to bloodsports being vague and undefined. There is not even any section of the website (www.countryside-alliance.org) devoted to the Honest Food campaign.

People

The current Board of Directors consists of:

• John Jackson - Chairman

Bill Andrewes – Deputy Chairman Richard Burge – Chief Executive Lord Mancroft Maurice Askew Prof. Caroline Tisdall Robert Waley-Cohen Charles Wilson David Reynolds Bob James Mark Firth Sam Butler[13]

Given that at least nine of these twelve people are involved in bloodsports, we should not give too much credence to the Countryside Alliance’s pretentions of being a broad-based organization concentrating on a wide range of rural issues. None of these people have expertise in eg. food policy or social exclusion, and some are actively involved in perpetuating rural poverty, for example by selling overpriced homes to commuters.

John Jackson This ridiculously busy man cannot possibly have enough brain-space left to think coherently about the countryside: He is Non-Solicitor Chairman of law firm Mishcon de Reya, Chairman of Ladbroke Group, and Celltech plc.; A Director of Billiton plc, Wyndeham Press Group plc., WPP Group plc., Xenova Group plc., Brown and Jackson plc., and Oxford Technology Venture Capital Trust; Special Advisor to the Korda Seed Capital Fund and Cambridge Animation Systems Ltd.; and one of the four owners of History Today[14]. His original involvement with the Countryside Alliance was through the Countryside Business Group[15].

Bill Andrewes Definitely a hunting enthusiast, Bill Andrewes was with the BFSS, before becoming Chairman of the Campaign for Hunting. Having been elected Vice-Chair of the CA Board, he relinquished his other position[16].

Richard Burge A zoologist and former Director General of the Zoological society of London, colonel's son Richard Burge is also Member of the Labour Party. He is a trustee for the Television Trust For The Environment and of the Charles Darwin Centre. He also sits on the council of the Shropshire and West Midlands Agricultural Society[17]. His appointment as Chief Executive is said to have caused consternation in some quarters, particularly after an interview in the Spectator, in which he said that he would take a job from anybody, had never hunted, and that the Countryside Alliance would survive without hunting[18].

Lord Mancroft Tory peer Lord Mancroft was Deputy Chairman of the BFSS[19], and is chairman of Inter Lotto UK Ltd[20].

Maurice Askew Maurice Askew has been associated with the Union of Country Sports Workers and is or has been Master of the Barlow Hunt in Derbyshire[21]. He is quoted as threatening that "We are fighting for liberty and freedom. My warning for Mr Blair is that if he does not listen to us there will be a civil war in this country, the like we have never seen since the days of Cromwell and Fairfax."[22]

Prof. Caroline Tisdall Formerly a Guardian journalist, Caroline Tisdall is now Professor of the Department of Rural Future at Oxford Brookes University. She shoots, angles, stalks, hawks and "would die in a ditch to defend hunting".[23]

Robert Waley-Cohen Owner of a healthcare company, Robert Waley-Cohen has been a steward for The Jockey Club, (also associated with the Jockey Club are fellow CA board member Charles Wilson, Christopher Sporborg, a Countryside Alliance director, and the Duke of Roxburghe[24] and Lord Vestey[25], donors to the CA) is a racehorse owner and is organiser of Upton House Horse Trials[26]. He was an executive of Christies Auctioneers (UK and US) from 1969-1981, and in 1983 founded Alliance Imaging Inc., the largest out-sourced radiology department in the US, followed by Alliance Medical Ltd., the largest out-sourced radiology department in Europe. He is also a trustee of the Countryside Foundation for Education, a member of the National Trust, and the Country Landowners Association (due to being a partner in a farm on land surrounding Upton House in Warwickshire)[27]

Charles Wilson Charles Wilson is a former Managing Editor of Mirror Group Plc; former Editor of The Times, a Trustee World Wide Fund for Nature UK and a member of the Jockey Club[28].

David Reynolds Master of the Woodland Pytchley Hunt, David Reynolds is so keen to defend hunting that according to the East Northants. Anti-Bloodsports, he has tried to ride over saboteurs on a number of occasions[29].

Bob James A well-known angler, Bob James is Chairman of the Countryside Alliance’s Gone Fishing Campaign.

Mark Firth Chair of Foresight, the Countryside Alliance’s Campaign for Shooting, Mark Firth is Joint Managing Director of Roxton Bailey Robinson sporting agents. He participates in shooting, fishing, stalking and other country sports in the UK and worldwide[30].

Sam Butler Chairman of the Countryside Alliance’s Campaign for Hunting, Master of Warwickshire Hunt and partner in estate agent Butler-Sherborn, Sam Butler is a particularly badly-placed person to be a leading light on an organization which claims to care about rural communities: His estate agents sells extremely pricey homes to rich folk, with not a hope of the locals being able to afford them. Nick Cohen of the Observer phoned Butler-Sherborne posing as a cash buyer for a remarkably over-priced Cotswold pad. On expressing concern that he could face hostility for being a townie, the saleswoman replied 'Oh no, Everyone round here's a commuter.'[31]

Butler made rather a fool of himself by bellowing without a blush to a demonstration outside the Labour Party Conference: 'Our forefathers didn't fight Hitler to have this lot take away our liberties.' One of Butler's forefathers was 'Rab' Butler, who certainly didn’t fight Hitler. He appeased him throughout the Thirties and then aided Lord Halifax's manoeuvres to force Churchill to bring about a negotiated surrender in 1940[32].

President: Baroness Anne Mallalieu QC A Labour peer and great fan of hunting: "Hunting is our music. It is our poetry. It is our art. It is our pleasure. It is where many of our best friendships are made. It is our community. It is our whole way of life."[33]

Deputy President: Lord Marcus Kimball Educated at Eton and Cambridge, Lord Kimball has been Director of the Royal Trust Bank, External Member of the Council of Lloyds, and Tory MP for Gainsborough in Lincolnshire. He has been Huntmaster of the Fitzwilliam Hounds and Cottesmore Hounds, and frequents Whites and Pratt’s gentlemen’s clubs[34].

Commercial Directors:

Christopher Sporborg A banker who lives on a farm in Hertfordshire[35]. One wonders what happened to the farmer…

Michael Hoare A banker from London[36]. A real yokel then…

Nick Bannister A stockbroker from London[37]. Hmm.

Secretary: Roger Loodmer An angler from London.

Also of interest is that out of the Countryside Alliance’s token five pounds’ worth of shares, one is held by Andrew Salvesen, who was a Non-executive Director of Christian Salvesen plc. between 1989 and the demerger in September 1997, when he was appointed to the Board of Aggreko plc. He had more than 20 years' with Christian Salvesen, including being Managing Director of Christian Salvesen's former Oilfield Technology operations. He is a Non-executive Director of Smedvig ASA and Stirling Shipping Ltd as well as being Chairman of Robertson Research Holdings Limited, Canvas Holidays Limited and Roxar ASA[38]. Quite what expertise about the countryside this has given him is unclear.

Where?

The Countryside Alliance’s address is: The Old Town Hall, 367 Kennington Road, London. SE11 4PT.

tel - 020 7840 9200 fax - 020 7793 8484 e-mail - info@countryside-alliance.org

Since May, what was the events office has been made into the Commercial Directorate, which is based in Marlborough, Wilts, and is headed by Roger Loodmer.

References

[1] It was not formally set up until the following year, but the groups initially came together under this title to organise the July 1997 Countryside Rally. [2] Countryside Alliance, Annual Report and Accounts 2000, p. 19-24 [3] Stewart, Ben, (Campaign for the Protection of Hunted Animals), The Countryside Alliance – a Briefing, unpublished. [4] www.mishcon.co.uk/fir/fir_d/fir_d_peop/fir_d_peop30.htm , last viewed 22nd June 2001 [5] Stewart, Ben, op cit. [6] Select Committee on Standards and Privileges Twelfth Report, Annex A, (Letter to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards from Mr Dale Campbell-Savours MP), HMSO, 10 February 1998, including excerpt from Countryside Movement Annual Report and Accounts for the year ending 31st March 1997. [7] House of Commons Hansard Debates for 3rd March 1995, www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/cm199495/cmhansrd/ 1995-03-03/Debate-3.html , last viewed on 25th June 2001. [8] ibid [9] Pan-MacMillan Online, www.panmacmillan.com/AV/MaxHastings.htm [10] Say, Judy, "So What is The Countryside Movement Up To?" www.oneworld.org/tlio/research/le3say.html, last viewed 25th June 2001, "Rural Lobby Takes Aim At Theme Park Britain", Times, 17th November 1995. [11] Stewart, Ben, (Campaign for the Protection of Hunted Animals), The Countryside Alliance – a Briefing, unpublished. [12] Ibid [13] Countryside Alliance, Annual Report and Accounts 2000 [14] www.mishcon.co.uk/ [15] "Guardian of the Land", Horse and Hound, 15th February 2001, p.10 [16] "Board Changes at Countryside Alliance", Press Release, Countryside Alliance, 7th July 1998. [17] Who's Who 2000, A and C Black, London, 2000, p.291 [18] "Gone to Claridge’s", TheSpectator, 20th January 2001 [19] "RSPCA Head ‘Enlisted Hunters’", Times, Wednesday May 2nd 2001. [20] "Next Step Forward For The Countryside Alliance", Press Release, Countryside Alliance, 26th March 1998, www.countryside-alliance.org/news/latest/980326sgm.htm , last viewed on 28th June 2001 [21] "Countryside 'army' descend on Labour", This Is London, September 29 1999 [22] Maurice Askew of the Union of Country Sports Workers at the Welsh Countryside March and Rally. Western Mail, 11 November 1999. [23] Caroline Tisdall, potted biography for Countryside Alliance Board elections 2001. [24] Prince’s Aide Revives Row Over GM Food, The Guardian, 28th September 1999. [25] Prince named as secret backer of hunt lobby, The Guardian, 26th September 1999. [26] British Endurance-Riding Association, Latest News March 2000, www.british-endurance.org.uk/ghr_pressnews.html , last viewed 9th July 2001 [27] www.countrysidefoundation.org.uk/WhatisCFE/Trustees/RW-Cmain.htm [28] "Next Step Forward For The Countryside Alliance", Press Release, Countryside Alliance, 26th March 1998, www.countryside-alliance.org/news/latest/980326sgm.htm , last viewed on 28th June 2001 [29] East Northamptonshire Anti-Bloodsports News, 2nd December 2000 www.northantshsa.org.uk/news.htm, last viewed 9th July 2001, "Hunt Master hospitalizes Saboteur", Kettering Hunt Saboteurs news release 11th February 1995 [30] "New Chairman For Campaign For Shooting and Alliance Shooting Committee", Press Release, Countryside Alliance, 21st June 1999 [31] "Is it Hair or Blague?", The Observer, 31st December 2000 [32] Unholy Alliance, The Observer, 15th October 2000 [33] Baroness Mallalieu’s speech at the Hyde Park Rally, later repeated in her submission to the Hunting Inquiry www.huntinginquiry.gov.uk/evidence/baronessmallalieu.htm [34] Who’s Who 2000, A and C Black, London, p.1139 [35] Countryside Alliance Annual Return 2000 [36] ibid. [37] ibid. [38] http://production.investis.com/aggreko/board/ last viewed 9th July 2001