Ignoring Welsh farmers’ protests is a dangerous move for politicians
The tactics appear to have worked, with under-pressure ministers reportedly working on an update to the policy.
- The tactics appear to have worked, with under-pressure ministers reportedly working on an update to the policy.
- We find the same in our new polling about the Welsh government – something that should be considered in the debate over the SFS.
A Europe-wide divide
- This is only the latest manifestation of “rural resentment” – beliefs that rural communities are economically, socially and politically marginalised.
- These sentiments have been associated with support for former US president Donald Trump and radical right parties across Europe.
- Political discourse in recent years has focused more on heavily Brexit-voting urban areas in the north of England.
- The real divide is political, but not party political.
Anti-Labour or anti-politics?
- In Wales, there are some differences but party supporters are still very happy to criticise governments run by parties they support.
- The most robust association we found in the cross-country study was between the perception of bias and trust in politics.
- This carries over into the Welsh study: lower trust in Welsh politics is associated with urban bias perceptions, particularly with stronger perceptions.
Risk or opportunity?
- For now, Welsh Labour has a huge poll lead over its rivals, which may cushion against electoral punishment even if it ploughs ahead with the SFS.
- What’s more, the risk of allowing perceptions of anti-rural bias to fester is that it brings the wider political system (including the Welsh devolved institutions) into disrepute.
Lawrence McKay receives funding from the British Academy to research urban-rural divides in Western Europe (grant number: PF22\220092)
Davide Vampa receives funding from the British Academy for the project “Exploring the Emergence of New Territorial Divides after Devolution: An Analysis of the Socio-Political Gap between Capital Cities and Peripheral Areas in Scotland and Wales” (grant number: SRG23\230264)