The NGO welcomes Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister

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The National Gamekeepers’ Organisation would like to welcome Rishi Sunak as the leader of the Conservative Party and our new Prime Minister. 

Rishi represents the rural, moorland constituency of Richmond in Yorkshire and we understand that he is highly regarded in the area as a dedicated constituency MP.

Since becoming the MP for Richmond, Rishi has regularly spoken out about rural issues; in 2016 he took part in parliamentary debate in response to a petition to ban driven grouse shooting.

“The real victims of a ban are not caricatures; they are ordinary working people in constituencies such as mine in North Yorkshire – the farmer’s wife who goes beating at the weekend so that her family can make ends meet through difficult times; the young man able to earn a living in the community he loves as an apprentice to a gamekeeper; the local publican welcoming shooting parties with cold ales and hot pies. Those who support a ban on grouse shooting must be prepared to look those people in the eye and explain to them why their livelihoods are worth sacrificing."

After visiting the moors above Castle Bolton in 2018 and meeting gamekeepers from the Yorkshire Dales Moorland Group, he wrote about the visit in the local paper, the Darlington & Stockton Times. As well as explaining to readers his new-found knowledge of predator control and the importance of controlled heather burning, he also commented on the role of keepers in the landscape and the community. 

“I loved my time on the moor. The keepers’ knowledge of the landscape under their care and the wildlife it sustains – often passed down from father to son – is both humbling and inspiring”, he wrote.

“They are a special part of our community, and it is a privilege for me to represent them. Their passion for the moors and the wildlife was such that I could have happily spent the whole day with them. Time spent with keepers and hill farmers is definitely one of the best parts of my job."

The NGO looks forward to working with Rishi and his government, and thank him for the support he has shown so far for gamekeepers working in the uplands. We wish him every success in his new role, and are sure that he would be a very welcome visitor back on the moors whenever he can find the time.