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I am marching today in defence of our freedom
By Iain Duncan Smith
(Filed: 22/09/2002)
I will be joining the countryside march today to make a statement about the Britain I want to live in. I want to live in a society where diversity and pluralism flourish, where people respect the rights of others to live their lives differently, even in a way that some might find distasteful. What I don't want is to live in a society where the law is used to suppress the liberty of those regarded by the majority as the wrong colour or religion, the wrong tribe or race, or advocates of the "wrong" way to live. In short, I want to live in a free country. By marching through our capital, I will be celebrating the diversity and pluralism of Britain, a country not just of cities and towns, but of hills and uplands, village schools and village shops; and yes, of fox-hunters and fox-hounds. Above all, I will be marching for freedom - the freedom of people in the countryside to live their lives according to their choices and traditions, instead of according to the whims of a distant and disdainful Government. Thousands will march, drawn from towns, villages and cities across the land, from across party lines and from every social class. Each will have their different reasons for attending, many to preserve hunting, others to show their solidarity with people whose way of life is under threat. Whatever their circumstances, they will march as one, to march against the imposition of a monoculture, to march for tolerance. Historically, despite the profound differences between the urban and rural way of life wrought by the industrial revolution, town and country have coexisted in mutual respect. The urban majority may not have always understood the traditions of the countryside, but they were prepared to live and let live. But now this bond is under threat. Those who govern are no longer prepared to live and let live. They want to regulate every aspect of country life, to control and interfere without so much as a thought to the consequences. I believe that one of the inevitable consequences of over-regulation is to set the regulator against the regulated, to breed confrontation instead of co-operation. That is why we now see the mutual respect between town and country breaking down. A clash of cultures is emerging where ignorance and prejudice come to the fore, rather than the understanding that to preserve our country we must preserve our respect for the way others live. Respect for the balance of nature is the key to understanding the countryside. Behind its often beautiful facade, nature can be unforgiving: pests are controlled, livestock is bred and slaughtered, animals perish in the elements. This is all necessary to preserve the order on which a prosperous and living countryside depends. If we regulate the hardship out of our countryside, we will end up with a theme-park, not a living environment. Agriculture will be reduced to mass production, as it is in the United States. It is all a far cry from the gentle interweaving of farms, landscape and community that is the key to the British countryside. Hunting is part and parcel of this natural order. It is an ancient part of our compact with the balance of nature and is viewed as such by the vast majority of country people. Yes, there is a ceremony to hunting, but it isn't based on ritualised cruelty as its critics claim. If hunting were cruel, the inquiry chaired by Lord Burns would have concluded so. Instead it found that the implications of hunting for animal welfare were no worse than shooting or gassing. I believe that hunting is an issue of liberty. I am proud to march for liberty. It is the most important right of all. In stating this position I recognise that many people, including some Conservatives, think differently. They too hold strong and principled views. This is why hunting remains an issue where MPs must be free to vote according to their conscience rather than a party line. However, just as the current Government has given parliamentary time for a Private Member's Bill to ban hunting, so a future Conservative government would offer parliamentary time and a free vote for any Private Member's Bill that sought to overturn or modify a ban if it were introduced. Because of the polarisation of opinion over hunting, some have proposed a "middle way" that preserves hunting in a regulated form. Attractive as that may be to some if the alternative is complete abolition, I remain unconvinced that it wouldn't lead to abolition by the back door. What we seek today is the liberty to carry on traditional ways, not a licence to hunt under the Government's sufferance. But this march is about more than hunting. It is about standing up for a prosperous, working countryside instead of the perpetual crisis seen in rural Britain over the last five years. It is a deep, numbing crisis illustrated by one stark statistic above all. Suicides among farmers currently stand at 59 a year. In other words, every week another farmer concludes that there is no future in farming, and consequently, no future for them. Nothing could show so clearly how farming is so much more than just a job to those who farm, it is a way of life. For those who earn their living on the land, livelihood is life. It is not difficult to see the roots of this despair. The average UK farmer earned just £10,000 for the financial year to February 2002, way below the minimum wage. The knife in the wound was twisted with the tragedy of foot and mouth and the Government's incompetent attempts to tackle the disease. Even when the full extent of the crisis became apparent, it was clear to those in the countryside that there were other priorities in the corridors of power ahead of tackling the disease competently and effectively. The farming crisis is at the heart of troubled times across rural Britain. Services are under threat, with sub-post offices, pubs and village schools disappearing from rural communities. As in the rest of Britain, rural crime is rising. What is the best the Government can do when so many country people live in fear of crime? It threatens to make thousands of them criminals by making a way of life illegal. The only thing that can stop that outcome is for those who object to make their case forcefully, but peacefully. For those unfamiliar with countryside campaigning, let me assure them that the march is a show of strength to make a fair and reasonable case, not a call for confrontation. Marchers are appealing for understanding, tolerance and help. Britain should be a place where communities tolerate one another's differences, where we celebrate freedom by respecting the way others live their lives. Today I am marching not just for the countryside, but for the kind of country I want to live in. |
