The Labour minister who claimed visions of Britain’s countryside based on warm ale, pubs and black labradors were a ‘far-Right fantasy’ that ‘never really existed’ paints a picture on social media of her own countryside idyll – including photos of a black labrador.
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, the recently appointed nature minister, shared pictures of the family pet and past trips to a countryside pub despite telling a fringe meeting at Labour’s party conference that she is kept awake at night by her fear the far-Right will use this supposed fantasy at the next election.
She told party members: ‘This is one of the things I do stay awake at night about, and think about, and fear.
‘One of them is that if we don’t make the case for nature, for rural communities, and what we believe rural communities look like, I do believe that the next election is going to be fought on a battle line of nature and rural affairs.
‘And there’ll be the far-Right deciding and determining what that looks like.
‘It’ll be a vision, a nostalgic vision of Britain, that never really existed.
‘It’ll be that warm ale, a black labrador by your feet in a pub that doesn’t exist, and with symbolism of fox hunting all around them, it’ll be a very far-Right nostalgic vision of Britain that we don’t want to have, [and] never really existed.’
But the Suffolk Coastal MP, 40, appears to have a short memory because this is the very lifestyle it looks like she used to enjoy, with a string of social media posts showing her relaxing at the pub and with a black labrador.
Jenny Riddell-Carpenter, who claimed visions of Britain’s countryside based on warm ale, pubs and black labradors were a ‘far-Right fantasy’, posted a picture with a black labrador sitting in front of a fireplace
The recently appointed Labour nature minister is seen pulling pints of ale at a pub
The MP, who claimed Labour would fight for a ‘progressive vision for the countryside’ as they attempt to take on the hard-Right, also posted about relaxing at The British Larder, a now closed gastropub in rural Suffolk
Ms Riddell-Carpenter became the Labour MP for Suffolk Coastal in 2024 and was appointed nature minister in July
In one post, from 2015, which shows a dog sitting in front of a fireplace, she wrote: ‘This is what Sunday breaktime looks like.’
The Nature Minister, who claimed Labour would fight for a ‘progressive vision for the countryside’ as they attempt to take on the far-Right, is also seen relaxing at The British Larder, a now closed gastropub in rural Suffolk.
Ms Riddell-Carpenter has also posted selfies with the black labrador and pictures of her spending time with her dad and the dog, who she describes as a ‘food taster extraordinaire’.
She also posted a picture of her pulling a pint behind a rural pub’s bar writing: ‘Very special to be back at the Red Lion in Martlesham — the pub I used to work at years ago. Thanks for letting me pull a pint again!’
Her constituency covers Southwold, home to the historic Adnams brewery. And in June she posted a picture pulling a pint of beer alongside the brewery’s director.
The Labour MP spent her early years in the Middle East because of her parents’ work before they moved back to Martlesham Heath, a village in Suffolk, when she was seven.
Her father taught at a pupil referral unit in Ipswich while her mother was an NHS nurse in Ipswich.
She attended several schools in Suffolk including the £27,000-a-year Woodbridge School and Welbeck Defence Sixth Form College.
She studied History and Politics at SOAS University before completing a Masters in Islamic History at the same university in 2009 and an MBA at Henley Business School in 2017.
Ms Riddell-Carpenter, an Army Reservist, worked at a number of PR agencies including as Managing Director of the Cratus Group PR firm, until she became an MP in 2024.
She is married to Matthew Riddell-Carpenter, who works in housing for Westminster City Council.
Despite claiming that the labrador and warm ale vision of Britain has never existed, official figures suggest otherwise.
Around 9.5million people live in rural settlements, according to the 2021 Census, amounting to around 17 per cent of the population.
According to official registers, the labrador was the most registered dog breed in the UK last year, with nearly 30,000 fresh additions to the Royal Kennel Club’s records, making it the most popular in the country, and nearly four times more popular than the French bulldog.
And while Labour is attempting a fresh crackdown on trail hunting, threatening up to 1,000 jobs in the countryside, it continues to bring £100million into the rural economy every year, according to the Countryside Alliance.
Ms Riddell-Carpenter’s outburst in Liverpool sparked a furious rebuke from the Conservative Party Chairman.
Ms Riddell-Carpenter has posted pictures of her spending time with her dad and the dog including one where she describes her pet as a ‘food taster extraordinaire’
The Labour MP for Suffolk Coastal pictured with a black labrador in July
Kevin Hollinrake, who represents the picturesque rural seat of Thirsk and Malton in North Yorkshire, told the Daily Mail: ‘Labour think the countryside, the pub, the dog and the people who love them are far-Right.
‘Labour is taxing the pub out of existence, as part of a sustained attack on the countryside, with almost two closing every day. That is a far more pressing cause of insomnia.
‘Conservatives will always stand up for rural Britain, for the pub, the farm, the countryside, and most importantly, the people who keep them going.
‘Andy Burnham should make his minister apologise to every one of them.’
The Labour Party and Ms Riddell-Carpenter have been contacted for comment.
