Labour minister claims the idea of Britain's pubs, warm ale and black labradors is a 'far-right fantasy that never existed'
A Labour minister has sparked fury after describing the idea of Britain based on pubs, warm ale and black labradors as a "far-right fantasy that never really existed".
Speaking at a fringe event at the Labour conference in Liverpool, Nature Minister Jenny Riddell-Carpenter warned attendees that the so-called "far-right" will try to weaponise rural Britain at the next election.
The MP for Suffolk Coastal admitted she lies "awake at night" at what "nostalgic vision" of the countryside will be used in the supposed battle.
She said: "This is one of the things I do stay awake at night about, and think about, and fear.
"One of them is that if we don't make the case for nature, for rural communities, and what we believe rural communities look like, I do believe that the next election is going to be fought on a battle line of nature and rural affairs.
"And there'll be the far-right deciding and determining what that looks like.
"It'll be a vision, a nostalgic vision of Britain, that never really existed.
"It'll be that warm ale, a black Labrador by your feet in a pub that doesn't exist, and with symbolism of fox hunting all around them, it'll be a very far-right nostalgic vision of Britain that we don't want to have, [and] never really existed."
The Nature Minister, acccording to the Mail, vowed to counter this idea of rural Britain by putting out Labour's own "progressive vision for the countryside".
Her comments sparked fury from former No10 adviser James Price, who suggested her intervention shows how "the Labour Party really, really hates this country".
He wrote on social media: "Everything you care about is far-right or racist or never existed, apparently.
"Never ever forget that they hate you and they hate this country."
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The Labour minister's remarks also drew criticism from Conservative Party chairman Kevin Hollinrake.
He told the Mail: "Labour think the countryside, the pub, the dog and the people who love them are far-right.
"Labour is taxing the pub out of existence, as part of a sustained attack on the countryside, with almost two closing every day. That is a far more pressing cause of insomnia.
"Conservatives will always stand up for rural Britain, for the pub, the farm, the countryside, and most importantly, the people who keep them going."
Mr Hollinrake also called on the Prime Minister to make Ms Riddell-Carpenter issue an apology to those living in the British countryside.
The row comes just days after a former Labour minister warned Andy Burnham to "be careful about picking fights with the countryside" after admitting the party's relationship with farmers had been torpedoed.
Daniel Zeichner, who served in Sir Keir Starmer's Cabinet between July 2024 and September 2025, said the Treasury imposed the hated family farm tax on British farmers and growers without considering the knock-on impacts of doing so.
The policy, devised by ex-Chancellor Rachel Reeves, came into force last April - and sees agricultural properties worth over £2.5million subject to a 20 per cent inheritance tax.
But Mr Zeichner said his party was out of touch with rural communities when drafting the proposal, telling The Telegraph: “I think the problem is that there probably weren’t people close enough to the discussion who knew enough about rural areas and farming to know what the response would be.
“They looked at it from a tax point of view, rather than understanding the politics.”
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