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Labour sets out stall for the countryside
THE countryside ‘does not belong to the Conservatives,’ said Peter Mandelson, as he set out the stall for Labour’s ambitions for the next general election and beyond. At the Future Countryside conference at Hatfield House, Hertfordshire, last week, the Labour peer said rural votes were ‘up for grabs’ and emphasised not only his, but the party’s, links to rural England in a speech to several hundred conference delegates, which included farmers, campaigners, environmentalists, policymakers and business leaders.
Lord Mandelson was keen to remind those present that, despite poor rural returns in recent years, the Labour party had taken a very pro-countryside approach in the past, especially after the Second World War, adding that the ‘countryside was, is and will be a great Labour cause’. He reminisced on the actions of his
