Rural protesters target Labour

Tony Blair has promised MPs a vote on hunting

The rural pressure group the Countryside Alliance has announced that it will mount demonstrations outside Labour's annual conference in September.

The group protested outside Labour's conference last year and warned on Wednesday that it planned to mount a "sustained and escalating" campaign, demanding fairness and tolerance for the customs and traditions of the countryside.

The Countryside Alliance is able to mobilise mass support

The Countryside Alliance says it will demonstrate every day during Labour's conference which takes place in Brighton this year, with the highlight being a procession on the seafront.

Last year, the group managed to summon 16,000 demonstrators to Labour's Bournemouth conference where they made clear their opposition to a ban on fox hunting.

Countryside Alliance chief executive Richard Burge said the government was known for using focus groups to help make policy and threatened: "Well if that is the only way the government will listen to the countryside we have decided to lay on for them the largest focus group they have ever seen."

MPs must realise that people do not surrender their freedoms gently

Campaign for Hunting

Referring to an increasing amount of rallies as the general election approaches, he continued: "This is why, partly as a tongue in cheek protest, we are calling our conventions Rural Focus Groups and will be extending invitations to the political party managers to come and learn from them."

Lending his support, the chairman of the Campaign for Hunting, Sam Butler, said: "We are aware of such a head of steam building up in rural areas because of this issue that we would not be at all surprised to see certain civil disobedience measures emerging.

"MPs must realise that people do not surrender their freedoms gently and that attacking those freedoms in a democracy will degenerate into a guaranteed vote loser."

After setting up an inquiry into the effects on rural life on a hunting ban the government has said it will let MPs decide whether to ban the sport in a free vote.

As most Labour MPs oppose hunting, and the party has a huge Commons majority, a complete ban is the most likely outcome of any vote, although whether the Lords would back such a move is much less clear.

The Countryside Alliance also said it would be stepping up its activities nationwide. They will include -

A series of grassroots regional conventions until next spring, each involving audiences of between 2,000 and 4,000 people. Venues will include Manchester, Bristol, Plymouth, Leeds and Newcastle.

A major conference for 800 delegates in London in October.

Lightning strike demonstrations and campaigning initiatives in key constituencies.

Peaceful picketing and information campaigns in rural areas.