Securing a Brexit That Works for Shooting

The General Election announced last week has the potential to reshape parliament more dramatically than any election since 1997, and there is one issue that will be at the heart of the campaign. This is the Brexit election. Almost every party is seeking votes on the basis of their particular vision for Britain’s future relationship with the European Union and how (or if) the Government should navigate the process of leaving. 

In every election it is vital that the rural voice is heard. There are always rural issues on the table, and in this regard this election is not different. There are vital domestic issues that will require the next government’s attention, which is why only one of the five points of the Countryside Alliance Rural Charter, part of our 2017 election manifesto, concerns Brexit:

1.  Make Brexit work for the countryside
2. Buy British by supporting our farmers and producers
3. Repeal the Hunting Act and recognise the value of shooting and fishing
4. Connect the countryside by delivering first class digital infrastructure
5. Tackle crime in rural areas 

We will be asking candidates to sign up to all of these points. And yet, there is no escaping the fact that Brexit is a once in a generation opportunity to reform and reorder countryside policy, and deserves very particular attention. Brexit could be a huge boost to the countryside, or it could be a total disaster, depending on how it is handled. 

Many farming organisations have produced policy papers and manifestos concerning the Brexit they would like to see. Production agriculture is so closely interwoven with European policy that this is an obvious place to focus. At the Countryside Alliance however our wider remit has led us to undertake a wider policy review, and we have produced a Brexit Policy Document divided into three sections: Food and Farming, Landscapes and Communities and, uniquely, Shooting and Conservation.

We have identified a range of policy areas in which Brexit could boost or bungle the shooting sector, and set out how the next Government can ensure they do the former. There will be a need to prioritise wildlife conservation and take the opportunity to review current conservation legislation and ensure it is fit for purpose. Securing the economic benefits of shooting means maintaining tariff-free trade with the EU in game meat, firearms, component parts and ammunition, and ensuring people travelling to and from the EU for country sports face no new barriers or bureaucracy in order to maintain the huge amounts of fieldsports tourism shooting generates. Finally, and particularly in light of the recent round of Firearm Directive negotiations, in which a number of wildly unsuitable amendments were thankfully defeated, we need to guarantee that any future changes to UK firearms law come from Westminster, not the EU.

Maintaining the many and varied benefits of shooting in a post-Brexit world depends on getting these negotiations right. There are many significant issues on the table at this general election, but make sure you ask your local candidates on how they intend to safeguard shooting and other rural issues as Britain seeks to leave the EU. Make sure you vote for someone who values you and the contribution your shooting makes to the countryside.

For more information on the Countryside Alliance please click here.