Countryside Alliance fires back at 'prejudiced' claims rural England is 'too white'
EXCLUSIVE: The CEO of the Countryside Alliance said a report claiming the British countryside is "overwhelmingly white" is "contradicted by evidence".
The Countryside Alliance has hit back at a controversial report claiming that rural Britain is "overwhelmingly white" and needs more halal food. The University of Leicester’s Centre for Hate Studies released the paper on "rural racism", which it claimed creates "discomfort" and a "psychological burden" for people "navigating predominantly white spaces".
Academics argued that ethnic minority groups in the countryside face "challenges" due to exclusionary "monocultural customs" such as traditional pub culture. Tim Bonner, chief executive at the Countryside Alliance, criticised their work as "contradicted by the evidence" and pointed to recent hate crime statistics.
He told the Express: "The suggestion that rural communities are inherently more racist than urban ones is contradicted by the evidence.
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"Recent Government hate crime statistics show an inverse relationship between rurality and racist hate crimes."
Mr Bonner slammed the report as “prejudiced” against people in rural areas, calling it “unhelpful” in fighting the “societal issue” of racism.
He added: "Racism is a societal issue which must be confronted wherever it arises, but collating anecdotes to suggest that it is a specific problem in rural areas when the facts suggest the opposite is not helpful.
"Ironically, those who peddle the narrative of a racist countryside are actually showing their own prejudice against rural people."
"Rural Racism Project: Towards an Inclusive Countryside" is a two-year project led by Professor Neil Chakraborti, alongside his colleagues Amy Clarke and Professor Corinne Fowler.
It claimed rural areas do not have the "appropriate facilities to meet religious and cultural needs" or cater to "dietary norms that are rooted in religious or cultural practice", such as halal and kosher food.
In a section titled "How Can We Make the Countryside More Inclusive?", the Centre for Hate Studies recommended making "halal food or spaces for prayer" and called on existing businesses to improve their "cultural sensitivity".
This could "make a significant difference in whether people feel comfortable visiting the countryside", the authors argued.
They added: "Welcoming minoritised individuals into the countryside means more than tolerance; it requires thoughtful adaptation, sustained inclusion efforts and a willingness to change."
The Centre for Hate Studies' report was funded by the Leverhulme Trust, established by William Lever - the man behind Unilever. It was based on interviews and "informal conversations" with 115 people.
Professor Chakraborti and his colleagues concluded that "most participants felt that racism in rural England is getting worse" as opposed to in cities where there is more diversity.
The participants also had poor experiences with people who lived in the countryside, such as "persistent and aggressive staring, hostile body language and deliberate isolation".
They also reported "more overtly threatening behaviours such as name-calling, racial slurs, physical intimidation and threats".
The study authors said their recommendations, which are often "framed as a threat to the stable and enduring norm of rural identity", would help tackle "resistance to demographic changes".
