Nigel Farage has issued a new warning that Labour is planning yet another attack on rural communities with new restrictions on shotgun ownership.
The warning comes as the Countryside Alliance demands Labour “urgently reset” its relationship with rural communities 20 years after Tony Blair’s divisive hunting ban.
The CA has warned that the government is suffering a “growing breakdown in confidence” with rural communities amid the ongoing family farms tax row and now the potential restrictions on gun ownership.
The Alliance’s chief executive, Tim Bonner, has said that a Home Office consultation on firearms licensing plans to restrict and monitor ownership of shotguns the same way as rifles and other firearms.
A recent Home Office response to a consultation on the policy said: “The government therefore intends to issue a new consultation on improving and aligning the controls on shotguns with other firearms.”
Nigel Farage says the new gun proposals will be an attack on the rural way of life (Image: Getty)
He explained: “In practical terms this would mean that an applicant would have to show good reason for owning a shotgun, each gun would have to be licensed separately, purchase of ammunition would be limited and there may be additional restrictions around storage.”
Explaining the hit this would have on rural communities, Mr Bonner said: “This would be a significant and unjustified burden on legitimate gun owners.”
Nigel Farage has now told the Daily Express such a move would be an “attack on our rural way of life”, after previously predicting the government really wants to ban shooting altogether.
The Reform UK leader blasted: “It’s clear that Labour are coming for our freedoms.
“There are 600,000 shotgun owners across the country and now Labour want to criminalise half and ban the other half.
“This is an attack on our rural way of life and it must be stopped.”
Labour want to restrict shotgun ownership (Image: Getty)
At the first Westminster farmer’s protest last year, Mr Farage predicted: “I am convinced that if [the family farms tax] goes through, at the end of the five years, they’ll even ban shooting.”
Speaking on the 20th anniversary of Tony Blair’s fox hunting ban, Mr Monner said the government must not waste any more hours of parliamentary time re-opening the hunting debate.
He said: “It is wrong to for the Government to prioritise hunting, an issue which is irrelevant to the vast majority of the population, further souring its relationship with the rural community and losing the new Labour MPs it worked so hard to get elected in the countryside.
“Ignoring the lessons of history is not wise and the new Labour government has already launched itself into a battle with the countryside over inheritance tax on farms and wants to restrict access to shotguns, a vital tool for farmers and rural workers.
“If the Government wants to avoid further fanning flames in the countryside, it would be wise to focus on prioritising issues that will actually help rural communities, rather than divide them.”
The CA points out that Labour picked up 80 seats at the General Election with significant rural populations, and many of these were won with small majorities that could be easily overturned in 2029.
Recent polling commissioned by the CA found that more than half of voters believe the Prime Minister has performed “poorly” at his commitment to “restore the bond of respect between Labour and the countryside”.
A Government spokesperson said: “Our commitment to farmers and rural communities remains steadfast. This Government will invest £5 billion into farming over the next two years, the largest budget for sustainable food production in our country’s history.”
“Protecting the public is also our priority and it is right that we keep legislation on firearms under constant review. No decisions have been made on future shotgun controls, and all interested parties will have the opportunity to respond to the consultation when it is published later in the year.”
