Actors in the distance: rural protests in the UK and the parliamentary parties

With various forms of protest becoming part of the lexicon of British political activity, this chapter considers rural protests in relation to parliamentary politics with the aim of tracing the interlinkages, if any, between the activities of political parties and social protest movements. The chapter focuses on the period between 1991-2011, with reference to the historical development of political groups and protest movements in British rural areas, arguing that after a period in which rural areas were the site of a range of protest movements a transition has now taken place to a new form of protest activity. During the period 1991-2003, mass mobilisation tactics were used to represent rural issues or issues in rural areas, seeing a spike of activity during this period that was distinctive in its form, scale and the range of actors. These have now given way to protests that involve smaller numbers of people but are amplified by their connection to other more formal forms of politics. This shift signals not only a change in tactics and organisation by social movements engaged in politics but also changes to the British polity, as the locus of decision-making shifts and the remit of the state changes. By considering the scope of British rural protests, from the Tithe Tax and Kinder Scout Trespasses through to contemporary protests against renewable energy schemes, fox hunting and genetically modified food, the chapter takes a broad perspective on the significance of protest in, and about, rural areas.