Editing Countryside Alliance (section)

==Countryside March: Liberty & Livelihood ==
In September 2002, the Countryside Alliance organised a march in central London to promote the interests of rural Britain. It was dubbed one of the largest marches of its type in history, with the BBC reporting around 400,000 in attendance.<ref name="bbcmarch">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/2274129.stm |title=Huge turnout for countryside march |date=22 September 2002 |work=[[BBC News]] |access-date=3 February 2015}}</ref> The Countryside Alliance hailed the march as a huge success and it called on the government to make a "considered response". While a central focus of the march was to show opposition to a ban on hunting with hounds in England and Wales, a wide range of other grievances from rural communities were also being linked with the demonstration around farming.<ref name=bbcmarch /> Over 300,000 people were in attendance, including [[Iain Duncan Smith]], [[Vinnie Jones]], [[Edward Fox (actor)|Edward Fox]], [[Clarissa Dickson-Wright]], [[Charles Spencer, 9th Earl Spencer|Earl Spencer]], and [[Michael Marsham, 7th Earl of Romney]].<ref name="dailytelegraphmarch">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/1407980/Thousands-march-for-countryside.html|title=Thousands march for countryside|date=22 September 2002|newspaper=[[The Daily Telegraph]]|access-date=3 February 2015}}</ref><ref name="dailytelegraph">{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/1464065/The-Earl-of-Romney.html|title=The Earl of Romney|date=10 June 2004|newspaper=The Daily Telegraph|access-date=3 February 2015}}</ref> Richard Burge, the then Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance, said of the march "This is a march for the people and by the people and not simply rural people.The strength of support, not just from the countryside, but from towns and cities across the UK makes us feel both humble and proud."<ref name="bbcmarch" /> The [[British National Party]] had called for its members to join the march and support the countryside; however, the Countryside Alliance issued the following statement: "Everything we stand for is the opposite of what they believe in."<ref>{{cite news |first=Jane |last=Perrone |url=https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2002/sep/20/ruralaffairs.thefarright |title=BNP urges members to attend countryside march |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=20 September 2002 |access-date=3 February 2015}}</ref>