Something very disturbing about the Foot and Mouth business.

There was something very disturbing about the Foot and Mouth business. I am not a farmer but lived in a rural area at the time. It was harrowing seeing the affect on farmers and the destruction of stock. Shocking really.

Despite an interest in all things conspiratorial, I have only begun to see Foot in Mouth in this way. What I relate below is just a bit of a thought experiment. There is no hard evidence, I do not really firmly believe it. Nor am I saying I was the ‘first’ to air this idea. But I want to swill it around like a wine – as I am sure Chris would understand to just savour the foul aromas.

Screw Labour were elected in May 1997. Largely as a response to this, The Countryside Alliance (CA) was formed a couple of months later. In the early 2000s, the Countryside Alliance attained the status of a sort of unofficial opposition to the government.

There were the fuel protests in 2000. Hauliers led the way, but the CA were, erm, allies. Petrol is the only thing that keeps rural areas going – as well as humour, resilience and a healthy bloody mindedness.

After an initial march in 1998, the CA intended to visit London again in March 2001, just before the election. The petrol issue and other matters had given the movement momentum. A perturbed Guardian reported the CA’s aim to take to the streets on 20 October 2020.

What happened before the second march could take place? The first detected case of Foot and Mouth was on 18 February 2001.

Now there is at least one problem with my thinking here. There was a substantial Countryside March in September 2002. Official estimates put the figure at around 400,000. However, keep in mind that the march planned for 2001 would have taken place just before an election. And there was the little matter that ‘the towers’ had fallen in September 2001, allow Blair to take on his world statesman role.

I am not saying that Foot and Mouth was some kind of preemptive or retaliatory strike against rural Britain. Or am I? I do not know. I will leave you with a comment from the chief executive of the CA from The Westmorland Gazette 22 September 2020. While it does not indicate any suspicion that Fake Labour were about commit biological warfare against the countryside, it does show how political the confrontation between the twisted Blairites and a portion of the British public was really getting ugly.

‘A BACKLASH of dirty tricks against rural groups could be a problem in the aftermath of the recent fuel protests, according to the Countryside Alliance.
CA chief executive, Richard Burge, is warning of a “concerted counter-blast” by the Government against groups involved in the protest could be on the way.
“There are worrying signs that Labour’s spin machine is moving to undermine the action groups’ through a smear campaign,” said Mr Burge.’

GW: Very interesting theory.