Rural Firestorm: Labour's Embrace of Wildlife Recovery May Ignite Britain

Labor's radical actions have reached a new level of absurdity. Beyond harming the economy, raising taxes, and deteriorating public services, these individuals are now contemplating a destructive move against the countryside: the prohibition of the traditional, essential practice of winter...

, and ASMedia

2025 September 17 . 9:10 PM

2 min read

Britain's Rural Conflict: Foolhardy Wildlife Revival Plans Threaten to Ignite Nationwide Unrest... — Britain's Rural Conflict: Foolhardy Wildlife Revival Plans Threaten to Ignite Nationwide Unrest under Labour Administration

Rural Firestorm: Labour's Embrace of Wildlife Recovery May Ignite Britain

In a move that has sparked controversy, the Labour government has announced a sweeping ban on controlled burning across England's peatlands. Critics argue that this decision, which extends to 676,628 hectares, could turn vast swathes of upland Britain into a 'massive tinderbox'.

The ban on winter burning, a practice long used as a management technique to reduce fuel for wildfires, create firebreaks, and protect moorland habitats, has raised concerns among experts like Richard Bailey of the Peak District Moorland Group and Adrian Blackmore of the Countryside Alliance. John Clarke of the National Gamekeepers' Association shares these concerns, warning that without burning, many upland areas will become impenetrable fuel dumps for the next mega-fire. Gamekeepers, who have historically helped put out wildfires, may refuse to do so if their expertise is criminalized and they are tied in bureaucratic knots by the government.

The Labour government's decision to scrap the 2031 deadline for recording unregistered rights of way in England has also been branded an attack on farmers and rural communities. The government's policies regarding the countryside are criticized for being ideological rather than practical, with plans to plaster Britain's countryside with solar panels accused of being a corporate land grab, not about saving the environment.

Farm leaders and landowners have joined the chorus of criticism, with Andrew Gilruth of the Moorland Association stating that Britain is burning because of the 'religion of rewilding'. The Labour front bench is accused of showing a 'staggering lack of understanding or knowledge' in their decisions regarding the countryside.

The National Gamekeepers' Association warns that Labour's policy will 'spell disaster' for upland areas, while the government's policy on the countryside is accused of being metropolitan meddling. The Labour government is accused of ignoring farmers and rural experts in their decisions regarding the countryside, with critics arguing that this could have disastrous consequences for the environment and rural communities.

The Conservative Party banned controlled burning on 676,628 hectares of peatlands in England in September 2022, raising questions about the effectiveness and necessity of Labour's ban. As the debate continues, it is clear that the Labour government's decisions regarding the countryside are causing significant concern among farmers, landowners, and rural communities.