We spend every other Christmas up on the Farm in North Yorkshire and we have regular jaunts up from 'the beautiful south' so that our little girl has regular contact with the Northern Grandparents and so they can see their little girl of course.
I am always fascinated culturally with the way of life and to the regular expression of political view which is often at least as complex as its urban equivalent.
Farmers are inherently conservative. They believe themselves to be and, on matters close to home, I find this to generally be true. Which brings me back to the article I have referenced at the top. On the front cover of the magazine it read: Debate. Outside the EU, would British agriculture sink or swim? I imagined on turning to the page there would be rant after rant of how awful Europe is and how we would be better off on our own and so on and so forth. To my surprise, the opposite was generally true. The more learnered discussion was generally in favour(of Europe) while most of the voices against were made of populist sound bites and little substance. This to me was a little disappointing as I was very intereted to hear (read) a constructive debate. The only problem the pro European arguments may have had here is that they were presented too academically.
So is there a grand misconception regarding the 'Rurals'? Much in the same way as I sometimes get the impression that out here they think all townies are unionist and Marxist? My impression is, of course, wrong (well slightly), their (the Rurals) impression is too and so is the general impression the 'Urbans' seem to have of the farming world. As every good politicians says at least once in their life, it is much more complex than that.
The only thing that confuses me is why a people who are as reluctant to embrace change as the next person are so anti trade union for that very trait? Mince pie anyone?
