CSM EDITORIAL In 2019, we had the chance to bury Labour once and for all, but we weren’t ruthless enough—or patriotic enough—to do the decent thing for Britain. Then came Covid, which distracted those capable of performing the final rites on an unpopular party that, once again, is proving to be a blight on this great nation. Starmer lied to us. Look around: from shivering … Continue reading The Opportunity to Bury Labour Once and for All
CSM EDITORIAL As readers of this magazine will know very well by now, there is a farmer protest organised for Tuesday 19th November in London. The organisers are claiming, soundly, that the planned rally will “help deliver a strong and clear message to the government while in the heart of London, that family farms and the rural community stand united against the government’s catastrophic Budget.” … Continue reading Met Police Farmer Protest Strategy Backfiring
CSM EDITORIAL A Disastrous Blow to Family Farms Labour’s inheritance tax (IHT) reforms, announced today by Chancellor Rachel Reeves, have sparked anger and deep concern within Britain’s farming community, confirming that this government has abandoned its commitment to rural stability. The Chancellor’s decision to freeze the IHT threshold until 2030, coupled with severe changes to Agricultural Property Relief (APR) and Business Property Relief (BPR), amounts … Continue reading Farm Wrecker Reeves
CSM EDITORIAL The dead cat strategy is the political strategy of deliberately making a shocking announcement to divert media attention away from problems or failures in other areas. In the PR world, it’s the introduction of a dramatic or sensationalist topic to divert attention from a more damaging issue that someone wants to keep hidden from the media, and therefore the public. ‘There is one … Continue reading These Days Nobody Falls for Tingay’s Dead Cat
CSM EDITORIAL Now that the rioting seems to have passed, one wonders what was the point of it all. It has created no tangible change. The ‘no-go’ areas in Britain remain – not the kind of places one would go out of one’s way to send a postcard from, rather than places one cannot enter. The motive of the perverted Southport child murderer is no … Continue reading Riots, Knives and Double Standards
CSM EDITORIAL The Squires chose to ‘do a Cummings’ this week and, out of a deep sense of public service, visited a series of public houses to survey public opinion. (Conveniently for the Deputy Editor, this exercise amounted to working from home). Today, Chancellor Rachel Reeves will claim that the Sunak government left no money and an economy on the brink, telling Parliament that the … Continue reading The Plastic Chancellor
CSM EDITORIAL This has to be the most depressing General Election in the last hundred years. Even Major v Kinnock had more about it than this garbage. Therein lies the danger. Who is going to turn out the lights this time? If Starmer, the liquid candidate, wins a massive majority, God help us. Those who voted for Corbyn – the deluded, unemployable graduates and ex-BBC … Continue reading Electile Dysfunction
CSM EDITORIAL In the complex world of UK farming, managing land, livestock, and crops is an already Herculean task. Yet, as if these responsibilities weren’t challenging enough, farmers now face an additional layer of bureaucracy with the latest updates to the licence to kill, take or disturb by Natural England. This licence, which permits the control of wild birds for essential purposes like preventing agricultural … Continue reading Unreasonable Hurdles for Farmers: Licence to Kill, Take or Disturb Chaos
CSM EDITORIAL This is going to be the most interesting General Election of our lifetimes, for sure. By ‘interesting’ we mean in the sense of the Chinese curse. The choice for voters is truly awful. Essentially, we will be forced to forgo our principles and sense of common decency and vote for the least worst option on offer. The bar couldn’t be lower. General Elections … Continue reading Government by Sixth Form
CSM EDITORIAL Let’s face it, Keir Starmer and his haircut would just about pass muster as transport secretary in Thatcher’s 1987 government. But he’s the only half-competent (whilst dreadfully slippery) player in a side that should have been permanently relegated in 2019. You’ll find more competent characters in the cheap offices in a Slough business park. When Wes ‘Dead-End’ Streeting is Labour’s go-to rescuer, you … Continue reading The Generally Lacklustre Election, 2024
CSM EDITORIAL Lord Walney’s comprehensive 100,000-word review on countering political violence and disruption, submitted to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak just before Christmas, includes a recommendation to empower the police to prohibit face coverings during protests. The government is expected to provide a response to these suggestions later in the year. Currently, under Section 60AA order of the Criminal Justice Act 1994, in a designated area, … Continue reading Unmasking the Sabs
CSM EDITORIAL Every now and again an academic report lands that hits the nail on the head*. Britain’s countryside is a ‘racist, colonial’ white space where people of colour are often framed as ‘out of place’, the Daily Mail ran in its pages yesterday. The Telegraph and other publications ran the same. These days it’s tricky passing a hedgerow without a racist in a white … Continue reading Britain’s Countryside is a ‘Racist, Colonial’ White Space?
CSM EDITORIAL Those companies selling solar panels to farmers to place in their fields have – like all good salespeople – addressed the likely objections: They argue that solar panel structures preserve agricultural land, that planning permission for a solar farm is time-limited, and installations can be completely dismantled at the end of their operation. Solar does not take agricultural land, they say, it borrows … Continue reading Solar Perplexes Us: Britain Needs a Solar Farm Cap
CSM EDITORIAL Farmers play a pivotal role in the United Kingdom, contributing significantly to the nation’s economy, food security, and environmental sustainability. Their tireless efforts and expertise in cultivating crops, raising livestock, and managing agricultural operations are essential for the wellbeing and progress of the nation. Farmers make indispensable contributions to the nation’s social fabric: through their dedication and expertise, they ensure a constant supply … Continue reading Furious British Farmers Now Ready to March
CSM EDITORIAL Dear Readers of Country Squire Magazine, the Squires trust that You are well and that 2024 is a terrific year for You and Your families. 2024 is election year both here and in the United States (where a fifth of our readership resides). While we suspect that a Trump will be hard to beat stateside (note ‘a’ rather than mere Donald), here in … Continue reading Not My Vote, Starmer!
CSM EDITORIAL The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) is responsible for dishing out licences to bird monitors. And such an established body would – one would hope – do some basic due diligence on those licensed operatives doing the counting in their name. Sadly, for a very long while now, raptor persecution has been the weapon anti grouse shooting animal rights extremists have chosen to … Continue reading Some BTO Monitors Can’t Count
CSM EDITORIAL Rochdale was a once a very proud town. It became a centre of the North’s woollen trade. By the early 18th century it was described as being remarkable for its many wealthy merchants. In the 19th century it became a mill town and centre for textile manufacture and was a leading town in the Industrial Revolution. The aristocrat and poet George Gordon Byron was Lord Byron of Rochdale. However, mention … Continue reading Recovering Rochdale
CSM EDITORIAL There was a time, in the bad old days of ALF, when animal rights terrorists were considered the second greatest terror threat to the UK behind the IRA. While various Islamist groups have overtaken them now, animal rights terrorism still abounds, carried out by a small but active crew of extremist cadres who still resort to violence to pursue their political aims. The … Continue reading Hamas & the Hunt Sabs
CSM EDITORIAL The Squires’ experience of dealing with Hampshire Police over Chris Packham matters during the last couple of years left us feeling – rightly or wrongly – that the organisation was a clueless chumocracy. Hopefully there are others who have had better experiences. And at least there’s a new Chief Constable, Scott Chilton, at the helm these days. Either which way, the Countryside now … Continue reading All Eyes on Hampshire Constabulary
CSM EDITORIAL The Daily Telegraph’s Allister Heath did not hold back in his column on Wednesday: Welcome to anti-democratic Britain, where the beleaguered majority is increasingly subject to the whims of an entitled, activist elite that often seems to despise the people over which it exercises so much power….” Meanwhile an Ipsos survey for London’s Evening Standard found that 76 per cent think Britain as … Continue reading Stopgap Starmer
