Study title

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.

The dataset comprises results from a questionnaire survey of members of the Countryside Alliance in four regions: Cheshire, North Devon and West Somerset, Mid and West Wales and Suffolk. Questionnaires were mailed to all Countryside Alliance members in these regions (4,344) in summer 2007. Useable responses were received from 1,243 individuals, a response rate of 28.6 percent. The survey was undertaken as part of a larger, ESRC-funded project on ‘Grassroots Rural Protest and Political Activity in Britain’ which aimed to develop understanding of the mobilisation of rural people in protest activity; the organisational form and tactics adopted; and the significance of the ‘rural’ in framing protest activity.

Further information about the project can be found on the ESRC grant award page.

Main Topics:

The dataset includes data on the profile and background of members (e.g. gender, age, occupation, place of residence, household income, previous experience of political activity); recruitment, length of membership and knowledge of other members; participation in protest, campaigning and other political activity; membership of other pressure groups and community organisations; involvement in country life (e.g. hunting, shooting); and views on key rural issues.