Labour List and Devon Live report on the Countryside Alliance’s allegations that the Labour Party’s has a so-called ‘rural problem’

The Alliance has published a report tracking how the party has experienced successively worse election results among countryside voters, describing it as the ‘elephant loose in the countryside’.

The report accuses Labour, particularly under Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership, of conflating ‘rural issues’ with animal welfare.

It also argues that Labour is perceived by rural voters as viewing them with ‘urban snobbery’.

The organisation calls for Labour to ‘engage with the rural electorate and focus on what matters to them, and not simply manipulate rural issues to appeal further to its increasingly urban base’.

In the foreword, Labour peer and Countryside Alliance president Ann Mallalieu QC writes: ‘Most worrying is the refusal of the party to address its rural failure… Post-election analysis from all parts of the party has completely ignored Labour’s rejection in the countryside.’

Full articles:

Devon Live - Labour Party has a 'rural problem' says Countryside Alliance report

Labour List - The elephant in the countryside: Labour cannot afford to ignore rural voters

Labour List - “Urban snobbery”: The Countryside Alliance on Labour’s “rural problem”