TONY Blair has been branded a "cowboy" and warned he will pay for ignoring rural voters.

That is the message from the Conservative Rural Action Group (CRAG), which said rural research in East Yorkshire showed the Government should not just focus on big cities.

The group's chief executive, Alice Johnsen, said: "We're fed up the Government concentrate on the big cities.

"We want to make everyone aware that the views of people in rural Britain are just as important."

She added: "As we talk to people in the rural constituencies such as Brigg and Goole, it is clear that many of the same fears that haunt city dwellers cause us concern. They just affect us in different ways."

The group is launching a poster and leaflet campaign highlighting "Cowboy Blair" who they say is "taking rural England for a ride".

Updated: 09:26 Saturday, April 23, 2005