Liz Truss says there are no 'woke' pubs in South West Norfolk

Are Norfolk's cherished country pubs set to become a new front line in the so-called war on woke?

While almost 60pc of us don't actually know what the word means, according to a YouGov poll, Ms Truss seemingly has rural eateries in her sights along with the so-called deep state she blames for her calamitous spell as prime minister

Setting out her stall in an interview with the Financial Times, over lunch at the Bedingfeld Arms at Oxborough, near Downham Market, she declared: "There's no such thing as a woke hostelry in South West Norfolk."

The Bedingfeld Arms at Oxborough, near Downham Market (Image: Chris Bishop)

Ms Truss is said to be a regular at the Bedingfeld - an 18th century coaching inn near a ruined church.

Yet word at the bar is the Bedingfeld might also be in league with the Turnip Taliban, one of whose leading lights hopes to unseat her.

For James Bagge, who campaigned to oust Ms Truss after she was first selected in 2009 now plans to stand against her as an independent.

And the Bedingfeld is laying on a tea party when he visits the village on a campaigning walk on May 3.

Oxburgh Hall, at Oxborough (Image: Ian Burt)

Its plush bar is a stone's throw from Oxburgh Hall, a moated manor house run by the National Trust, a tweedy charity which has recently been rocked by its own "woke war" over its acknowledgement of some of its properties' previous owners' less than politically-correct deeds such as having links to slavery.

Vegan, vegetarian and gluten-free options are still on the menu at the hall, showing woke might just have triumphed after all, at least when it comes to the cafe.

But while breakfast fare at the Bedingfeld includes smashed avocado, alongside the inevitable full English, the hand-pumps which pull pints of real ale are still emblazoned with red-coated huntsmen riding to hounds - once dubbed the unspeakable in pursuit of the uneatable before hunting foxes was banned.

James Bagge and Catkin Parker in the bar at the Bedingfeld Arms (Image: Chris Bishop)

Landlady Catkin Parker, who has run the pub for 14 years with her husband Stephen, said she didn't want to get involved in politics - talk of which is banned at the Bedingfeld's weekly coffee mornings.

"I'm apolitical," she said. "We have everybody coming in here. I've always wanted women to be comfortable, there's none of that American Werewolf in London stuff where they all look at you when you walk in."

Ms Truss felt comfortable enough to choose the Bedingfeld for an interview with the FT about her new book Ten Years to Save the West, chronicling her brief Downing Street tenure.

South West Norfolk MP Liz Truss says there are no 'woke hostelries' in her constituency (Image: Denise Bradley)

Retired barrister and army officer Mr Bagge, 71, who was sitting in a quiet corner, sipping a mineral water, also sometimes frequents the pub.

"I think they'd like to remain out of the political limelight," he said.

"To say they're non-woke here depends on which definition you adopt. It's a country pub."

Clientele-wise, it's a tough call to make. Shooting parties giving the local pheasant population what for frequent the pub - along with workers from a large vegetarian food business.

Ms Truss's spokesman said she couldn't recall the context in which the remark was made.

James Bagge, former high sheriff of Norfolk, who plans to run as an independent candidate at the next general election (Image: Newsquest)

"Really, it's a rather clumsy attempt to endear herself to what she thinks we represent here," added Mr Bagge.

"Maybe not all pubs in south west Norfolk are non-woke, but we're polite, well-mannered, caring people."

Will Mr Bagge be the next target in the wokehunt, as the election nears?

"I'm just offering myself as an option," he said. "I look like a conservative, I sound like a conservative and I'm very centrist when it comes to party politics.

"But I have a heart, I care about things."  

Built in 1783 to provide food, lodgings and stabling for visitors to the nearby hall, the Bedingfeld didn't seem too much like an ideological battlefield as one corner of the crowded restaurant began singing Happy Birthday.