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I started work with the SCA on the day after the Great London March of 2002. The five and a half years since that day have been a personal journey for me, and one that I wouldn’t have missed for anything.
Coming to the job from a life of representing the UK abroad, it was something of a shock to discover the extent of prejudice against our traditional rural way of life. I couldn’t imagine my German, Russian or Brazilian friends beginning to comprehend attacks on what to them is so obviously valuable and desirable. Looked at this with the fresh view of a newcomer, it seemed to me that we were getting our priorities fundamentally wrong. As I saw it, the task was to challenge those negative perceptions, and present rural Scotland in a new light. In this, my final article as SCA Chief Executive, it would be too easy to trumpet our successes out of context. There is no doubt that the SCA has moved a long way, and there are achievements to celebrate, such as our support for hunting in its new regulated form, our effective Campaign for Shooting, “On the Front Foot”, the work of the SCA Educational Trust, promoting fresh local produce and healthy cooking to urban communities, taking country sports to a new generation through SNAP and Next Generation Days, and establishing the Countryside Festival at Glamis in the rural events calendar. These are all important measures of success, but they do not tell the whole story, nor is there any indication of less need for coordinated lobbying on behalf of rural Scotland. Behind these successes lie changes that are not so obvious, such as the work of the SCA’s Policy Group and political campaigning team. Policy is now agreed only after extensive discussion with members, supporters and other rural organisations, and even then only when the policy team has completed a rigorous process of research and filtration. The succession of Bills – Protection of Wild Mammals, Land Reform and the Access Code, Agricultural Holdings, Nature Conservation, Animal Welfare (tail docking and snaring) etc were and continue to be the drivers of our lobbying efforts. With other rural organisations we respond to consultations, attend one-to-one and group meetings, give media interviews, and organise parliamentary familiarisation visits to grouse moors, farms and salmon fisheries. Our Spring conferences introduced themes such as “Connecting Communities”, “Getting the balance right”, “People, Places Prosperity” and “Who should run the Countryside?” They made an important contribution to broadening our agenda. Speakers, some famous such as Orri Vigfusson of NASF, came from Canada, Lithuania, Iceland and Norway, and they brought new ideas to the national debate. Prior to the 2003 and 2007 elections, our conferences gave all political parties a platform to set out their rural manifestos for delegates to debate. These events attracted media partners and were extensively reported nationally and locally. The key to understanding how the SCA has addressed change is in relationships with our partner organisations, politicians and the media. The 2007 rural hustings, led by SRPBA, NFUS and the SCA demonstrated the power of a unified rural lobby group. Whilst some may at first have felt uncomfortable with their new bedfellows, the fact is that since May 2007 a unified approach to major campaigning issues, such as snaring, has won the support of the Government, who now have an industry coalition to consult and work with. A unified rural sector is now presenting its case more powerfully than ever before. I sincerely believe that destructive competitiveness and internecine conflicts are things of the past, and that rural Scotland is better for it. As the SCA has broadened its remit away from the single issue of fox hunting, we have worked with new people and attracted new audiences, often much to their surprise! The orange boiler suits of the Rural Rebels are now collecting dust, but there are people out there with long memories and, perhaps for their own reasons rather than from rational thinking, choose to nurture their prejudices. We recognise that surprise is a powerful tool for challenging prejudice. Our campaigns against post office and rural schools closures and for resolving the affordable housing crisis are cases in point, as are the Educational Trust’s commitment to an inclusive countryside, healthy eating and education. It should not surprise our members that we are therefore routinely consulted on issues such as climate change, the economy, species reintroductions and renewable energy. Working in separate ways towards the same broad goal of a vibrant and well-managed countryside that contributes to national economic and social wellbeing, the SCA and SCAET are a powerful joint advocate for rural Scotland. More of this advocacy will certainly be needed in the future. With their teams of talented and committed staff, I am in absolutely no doubt that these two bodies can succeed in getting the message across. The move of the Royal Highland Showground to a new site across the A8, perhaps as early as 2013, is a golden opportunity to bring rural organisations under the same roof. By then one can only hope that our new found unity of purpose will lead to formalised economies of effort and closer working. In these articles I have written that I believe the greatest challenge for rural Scotland is demographic. Prior to the 2007 elections I wrote, “For Scotland’s countryside the biggest change since the Act of Union in 1707 has been demographic. Today the Country is one of the most urbanised in Europe, whilst population density in the remoter areas is amongst the lowest.” I asked, “Will the new Executive have a better understanding of how Scotland’s world-class rural sector can contribute to the national economy, brand and reputation? Will they serve the needs of rural communities better than their predecessors, and will they recognise the expertise and skills of the people who have managed our land and wildlife for generations?” In other words, “Will the new Executive undertake to rural-proof every single piece of legislation going through the Parliament?” These questions translated into five priorities agreed with the NFU and SRPBA. These were; reducing red tape, support for rural businesses, improving planning regulations, education on rural matters and empowering local managers to deliver biodiversity. Readers can judge for themselves whether the SNP Government is delivering on these promises. From our viewpoint we think they are doing a great deal better than their predecessors. I make no apology for coming back one last time to the concept of ‘balance’. This is not a vague idea, but lies at the heart of what the SCA stands for. It is the balance between the four pillars of rural Scotland, the economy, the environment, communities and cultures. In the context of balance as a guiding principle the conviction politician or evangelical conservationist is just as dangerous as the greedy developer or the rapacious sportsman. Managing balance is, I believe, what our ancestors did, and what the wise husband of the land continues to do. Scotland’s countryside does matter. It is the heart of our national culture, economy and wellbeing. As I leave the SCA at the end of March, I look forward to keeping in touch as Chairman of SCAET, and to the challenges of my new job as Director of the Atlantic Salmon Trust. I am in no doubt that our paths will cross. Thank you for your attention and tolerance. |
