Pub offers free pints for black Labrador owners after Labour MP said ideal of country hostelries and the much-loved dogs are 'far-right fantasy'

A rural pub is offering free pints to black Labrador owners after a Labour MP bizarrely said the nostalgic ideal of countryside communities with warm ale and dogs is a 'far-right' fantasy.

Those turning up to The Trowel and Hammer in Cotton, Suffolk, with their beloved pet on Sunday can expect a free 'warm' beer in a deal announced by owners Freddy and Bekkie Vaudrey.

It comes after Nature Minister Jenny Riddell-Carpenter told a fringe event at Labour's party conference in Liverpool this week she fears the far-Right will battle to weaponise the countryside at the next election.

'This is one of the things I do stay awake at night about, and think about, and fear,' she told party members.

'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.'

She argued Labour will instead fight for a 'progressive' view of the countryside as they take on their rivals at the ballot box.

Freddie and Bekkie Vaudrey, who own The Trowel and Hammer in Cotton, Suffolk, say politics should stay out of the humble British pub (both pictured with their labrador Philip)

Those turning up to The Trowel and Hammer in Cotton, Suffolk, with their beloved pet on Sunday can expect a free 'warm' beer in a deal announced by the Vaudreys

Ms Riddell-Carpenter later took to social media to clarify her comments and said that black Labs and beer in themselves are not 'far-Right'. 

But pub owners have hit back at the claims, with the Vaudreys decrying her comments as 'stupid'. 

Sharing their offer on social media, they said: 'Warm ale? Black Labrador by your feet? A pub that doesn't exist? Well… you could have fooled us!!

'This Sunday, October 4th. Bring your black Labrador along and your first pint is free at The Trowel & Hammer in Cotton! 

'We're staying out of politics (everyone is welcome here!) but we love the countryside, we love our four legged regulars, and we're here for a bit of fun!' 

Speaking to the East Anglian Daily Times, Mr Vaudrey added: 'Politics doesn't belong in pubs and my pub is for everyone.

'We are a country pub, we see a lot of dogs in the course of a week and they are really welcome, and warm beer is popular, it is arguably our bestselling product.'

The couple own their own black Labrador named Philip. 

Pubgoers have been wildly supportive of the initiative, with some posting images of their own pets they plan to bring along tomorrow.

Others joked about painting their lighter-coloured labradors or borrowing animals from friends and family. 

Ms Riddell-Carpenter has since shared a photograph of her own childhood black Labrador and rowed back on her statement, saying: 'Do I think country pubs and black labs are far Right? No way hosay! I was talking about how rural life isn't always rosy and there are challenges government can help fix... So yes to pubs, pints and Labradors! I love all of these things.'

Some 9.5million people live in rural areas, according to the 2021 census, around 17 per cent of the population.

Following the fringe event, Conservative Party Chairman Kevin Hollinrake 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.