Tim Bonner 🇺🇦

My comment piece in @thetimes ‘Labour is losing the countryside all over again’ thetimes.com/uk/environment…

This week I’ve been back home in the Isle of Lewis and posting on how indigenous islanders feel about being punched down on by campaigners over their #Guga (gannet) hunt - traditional to the diet & sustains people-to-place bonds. Here’s the local paper expressing strong feeling.

I joined @GBNewsOnline yesterday morning to highlight how managing fuel load via muirburn is a powerful land management strategy that helps to prevent the wildfires which are currently raging across the countryside. Watch now ⬇️ youtube.com/watch?v=SMjqE8…

“Natural England ... has increasingly appeared less interested in working with the people who manage the countryside than in restricting what they do,” argues @CA_TimB thecritic.co.uk/not-so-natural…

Quangos have immense power over rural Britain. Last week's judgment on pheasant released is a reminder that they are servants of the law, not its authors, writes @CA_TimB thecritic.co.uk/not-so-natural…

Game shooting supports rural jobs, habitat creation and conservation. Yet government agencies increasingly treat those who manage the countryside as the problem rather than the solution, writes @CA_TimB thecritic.co.uk/not-so-natural…

My piece on @BASCnews victory in the courts and what that means for the relationship between the countryside, government and quangos. Not-so Natural England thecritic.co.uk/not-so-natural…

Thank you to @GWCT for making the case in @Telegraph that our High Court win is a win for lapwing, stone curlew and other wildlife, too. Worth a read 👇 ow.ly/RQ4e50ZrRA3 Photo credit: Scott Liddle

Great to see @Jenny4SuffCoast getting the call up to serve as @DefraGovUK Minister from her very rural and coastal constituency. We called for Andy Burnham to recognise the very capable rural MPs elected in 2024 last month.

Our reaction to business rate cut for pubs via @Independent and @DavidPBMaddox 🍺

We don’t hang about. We’ve a countryside to fix!

Angela Eagle becomes DEFRA Secretary at a pivotal moment, with relations between the government and countryside undeniably strained. We wish her well. The Prime Minister, Andy Burnham, pledged to “change politics”...1/2⬇️

Interesting timing. A long standing @caupdates call. We have specifically called for a ‘reset’. Someone obviously watching… Rural impact assessments must be more than lip service though. Needs strong rural voice around cabinet table, reminding PM Lab has over 100 rural seats.

“Blind adherence to the cult of rewilding is a threat to the future of rural communities…the countryside is nothing without people.” @CA_TimB 🗞️Royal Kennel Club’s dog training estate to be rewilded telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/…

Great work from @BASCnews successfully challenging @NaturalEngland’s administration of licences to release gamebirds on SPAs. Have to be questions about NE’s knee jerk decision to appeal. The judgment is straightforward and should be no surprise. telegraph.co.uk/business/2026/…

Growing calls for a fundamental reset between countryside and Whitehall. Will Andy Burnham heed the warnings? Rural Labour MPs urge Andy Burnham to tackle drop in support. Rural Labour MPs urge Andy Burnham to tackle drop in support thetimes.com/article/e100cf…

Will Andy Burnham reset the government’s relationship with the countryside? With quotes from @CAupdates @mometfisher dailymail.com/news/article-1…

My latest in Shooting Times on the future of the rare Welsh grouse and the impact of changes to farming and the uplands @CAupdates

My musings on Manchesterism and the countryside. Labour has plenty of rural MPs - it’s time we saw some of them in @DefraGovUK

100%! Confusing labelling has made it harder for consumers to support British produce 🇬🇧 We have long campaigned for clearer food labelling and a fairer marketplace for British farmers, so we strongly welcome this campaign from the Labour Rural Research Group. @CA_TimB

Moorland needs to be managed and ponies have been playing a vital role on Dartmoor for centuries.