It's time for a rural reset
On Monday 14th September 2026, I had the honour of being invited to Westminster by the Countryside Alliance, to address a room full of delegates about why I believe Britain needs a rural reset.
I watched and listened intently to the other speakers, before it was my turn to speak. The other speakers were passionate, knowledgeable and wanted to share not only an urgent message of change to the Government, but of hope and positivity to everyone else.
Soon it was my turn to speak, and after shocking those people who hadn't already noticed the giant afro sitting at the front of the room, I shared my thoughts and my story, before introducing Lord David Cameron to the stage - below you can watch the 3 minute speech that I wrote, along with footage from the event.
Unfortunately Andy Burnham couldn't make the event due to a family emergency, but it was still a fantastic afternoon with passionate speakers and the promise of follow up action from everybody.
Head to ruralreset.org to join the campaign for the countryside and send a letter to your local MP, or to Andy Burnham himself.
A speech for the Prime Minister
"I want to tell you a little bit about what the countryside looks like to me, because I suspect that when many figures in government talk about 'the countryside', they don't always picture the same people I do.
I am a Black British woman from a very ordinary background, and yet today the countryside is a huge part of my life. I hunt, I offer pest control services, I forage, I educate others about the importance of spending time outdoors, I care deeply about conservation and sustainable food, and I have found a community here that I didn't know existed when I was growing up.
And this is something that's important for politicians to understand: the countryside looks like me now. Perhaps not enough yet, but it does. And, it looks like many more ordinary people than they might realise. Because the countryside isn't simply large estates, wealthy landowners and beautiful country houses. It is farmers getting up before dawn. It is people managing deer populations, controlling pests, protecting crops, caring for livestock and maintaining habitats. It is people who work incredibly hard to keep rural communities alive.
And - it is a collection of communities within a community: stalkers, wildfowlers, gamekeepers, farmers, conservationists, horse riders, huntsmen and women, shotgun and rifle shooters, fishermen, foragers and countless others. There is an enormous amount of quiet, practical work being done every day by ordinary people that rarely makes the headlines. And I think there is an opportunity for government to recognise that contribution, and work with those people, rather than simply seeing rural life through the lens of wealth, land ownership or politics.
The countryside has something to give the whole country. It gives us food. It gives us wildlife and biodiversity. It gives us landscapes, employment, tourism, recreation and communities. It gives people somewhere to breathe, somewhere to learn and somewhere to belong.
And perhaps, most importantly, it gives us people who are willing to take responsibility for something bigger than themselves. The people I have met through rural life don't want special treatment. They want to be understood, valued and given the opportunity to continue doing what they have always done: caring for the places they love.
I hope that when those in government think about the countryside in the future, they don't just picture a map, an estate or a policy document. I hope they picture people. People like me. People from ordinary backgrounds, from towns and cities as well as villages and farms, who have found something in rural life that has changed them.
I would love this government to open its arms to those people, to listen to them, include them in conversations concerning the countryside, and to recognise the enormous contribution they can, and do make, to the future of our country.
I'm sure that running a government is not an easy job. But there are ways to do it without neglecting and harming rural communities, as our next speaker can tell us: after all, he has some experience in that area. He was Prime Minister of this country for six years, and I am sure that you, like me, are looking forward to hearing how he thinks a new Prime Minister should approach the countryside. It is an honour and a pleasure to welcome David Cameron…"
I know I will be attending and speaking at many more events in the future, but for now I am going to focus on writing my 2nd book, filming with brand partners and getting as many people out hunting and gathering with me as possible!
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