Countryside hills
Countryside hills

Meet your candidates

There are three candidates standing for one England seat and two candidates standing for one Wales seat.

Click on candidates below to view their individual statements.

England seat

Andrew Riga

Andrew Riga

Will Wikinson

Will Wilkinson

Chris Jordan

Chris Jordan

Wales seat

Tomos Davies

Tomos Davies

Angela Charlton

Angela Charlton

How to vote

You can vote for your candidates online at basc2026.ukeballot.uk or by returning the freepost ballot form included within this magazine. All votes must be submitted by 6pm on Monday 25 May.

Both members in a BASC joint membership category can vote. There is only one set of voting papers included in this magazine for the primary member. Joint members will receive their set of ballot papers by direct mail next week. If you live in England or Wales and haven’t received your voting papers by Friday 20 March, please contact the independent scrutineer’s election team by email at basc@uk-engage.org or by telephone on 0345 209 3770. The election results will be announced at the BASC AGM on 28 May.

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BASC annual review

Read BASC’s annual review, which details the Association’s challenges, victories and achievements on behalf of our members throughout 2024.

Andrew Riga Andrew Riga

Herefordshire
Proposed by Sir Bill Wiggin
Seconded by Leslie Watkins

One of my earliest recollections, aged about seven, was accompanying my father on farm shoots in Gloucestershire. This wonderful experience opened the door to a lifetime of pleasure, contribution and commitment to country pursuits.

Having accumulated experience across four very different career paths, ranging from operations in major corporations, establishing my own business ventures, engaging in partnerships and working directly in farming, I feel it is now an opportune time to give something back. I firmly believe my extensive business and financial acumen can significantly benefit BASC.

The one enduring passion that has consistently driven my professional pursuits is my deep commitment to rural pursuits. This is reflected in my active leadership of the local clay shooting club and my management of two significant local shoots.

Today, with our farm, a family-owned butcher’s shop and my eldest grandson soon to start agricultural college, my focus is steadfastly on preserving, enhancing, and educating others about the vital roles that shooting and conservation play and how they impact everyone in our country, not just the countryside.

The contribution and understanding for everyone’s recreational enjoyment and wellbeing, whether from town or country, as well as rural economies, jobs and communities, has never been more important.

 

Will WikinsonWill Wilkinson

Hampshire
Proposed by Tim Tyne
Seconded by RME Raley

Fieldsports are part of our heritage – I want to see them protected even as some practices develop over time. We have a lot to offer society, including sustainable food, well-managed habitats, improved biodiversity, social cohesion, jobs, self-discipline and preservation of traditions.

However, we also face various problems as a community; barriers to shooting, including increasingly restrictive legislation, cost and under-resourced firearms licencing departments, some of which add extra hurdles to our way of life. We need more people coming into all disciplines, especially younger people. Then there are restrictions on lead, the sustainability of quarry species, the ethics of shooting, particularly regarding what happens to the birds after large-volume days, antis and how we are portrayed in some circles of society.

I grew up in a non-shooting family but always had a passion for nature, bushcraft and fieldsports, including fishing. I finally got an air rifle in my late teens/early 20s. Thanks to the encouragement and kindness of numerous individuals within the shooting community, I now occasionally shoot game and clays.

I am also getting into deer stalking, working towards DSC2 while waiting for my FAC grant application to be processed (a year’s wait thus far). I also have respect for disciplines I do not currently participate in. While these disciplines can be markedly different, ultimately, we’re all in this together and I have yet to meet anyone in our community who does not care about conservation and wildlife.

Beyond this, I am a vet, reservist, bee farmer and a dad. I’ve worked as a university lecturer, including teaching veterinary and conservation topics. As a Christian, the army’s values and standards, and the Nolan Principles, are all part of who I am.

Having previously been a local PCC and an elected member of the council of the veterinary regulator, the RCVS, I understand corporate governance, including issues such as disconnects between the public, members, and an organisation’s governance and leadership team, transparency, and the communication of important topics and decisions. I have experience in considering complex topics from different angles and understand that it is essential to consider and mitigate potential consequences of decisions several steps down the line. I also believe that decisions should be evidence-based while guided by principles.

Consequently, I believe I have the skills and knowledge to serve on BASC Council, representing the membership in England with a strong voice for all shooters and conservation.

 

Chris JordanChris Jordan

Bedfordshire
Proposed by Timothy Dickens
Seconded by James A Baker

My name is Chris Jordan and for the last 60 years I have been involved in the game dealing industry. I have also served on the council of the Bedford Athletic Rugby Club for more than 25 years, including three years as chairman.

After leaving school, I started working with my father in a game processing business he started in 1964. After his death in 1988, I continued running the business until August 2025, when I decided that, due to my age and the state of the game market, I would call it a day.

At our peak, we employed 15 people, collecting game and venison from around the country, processing it and supplying Smithfield Market three nights per week. During that time, I met and did business with many people as far north as southern Scotland and as far south as Plymouth. I am very privileged to regard many of them as my friends to this day.

I live in a village in north Bedfordshire and am very lucky that my family all live there too. To this day, I run a farm shoot that my father and his mates started after the war. My son and daughter both shoot, and I am lucky enough to get out with them on several days a year.

My granddaughter is going to start shooting this summer. By applying for this position on the BASC Council, I hope to help shape the future of shooting for her and other young people. By drawing on more than 60 years of experience and the help of the many people I have befriended, I hope to put something back into the shooting world to make it more sustainable.

 

Tomos DaviesTomos Davies

Monmouthshire
Proposed by MR Murray
Seconded by Edward Hodgetts

I’m standing for election to fill the BASC Wales Council seat because shooting and conservation lie at the heart of who we are as a nation. They shape our landscapes, our livelihoods and our communities – from the hedgerows of Monmouthshire to the foothills of the Black Mountains I’m proud to call home. I want my children to grow up in Wales where the rural way of life is respected, protected and celebrated, and where shooting and conservation work hand in hand for the benefit of people and nature alike. 

I’m a late but passionate convert to shooting. I now spend as much time as I can in the field – whether beating and picking up with my girls or supporting our local dads’ syndicate with early morning feeding. What I love most about these days isn’t just the sport, but the camaraderie, the connection to the land and the shared understanding that responsible shooting is about stewardship and sustainability. Those experiences have deepened my belief in BASC’s mission to champion shooting as a force for good in our countryside and in our communities.

My career has been dedicated to the Welsh public service. I’ve advised cabinet ministers on national policy, served as a county councillor and held non-executive and trustee roles across major Welsh national institutions. These included serving as a governor of a Welsh University, as a trustee of the National Library and, more recently, as a director and trustee of one of Wales’ leading visitor attractions. These roles have taken me to all four corners of our country and taught me how to combine scrutiny, accountability and strategy to help institutions succeed.

Alongside my public service, my career in the private sector has seen me build coalitions and deliver award-winning public affairs campaigns. This has given me a deep respect for teamwork, clear decision-making and the importance of aligning strategy with values – qualities I would apply to BASC Council.

As a fluent Welsh speaker and experienced media spokesman, I have spent much of my professional life representing Wales and explaining its story in both our national languages, on air, in print, and at countless meeting tables. I believe BASC needs to continue building understanding of our sport and conservation work across society, speaking with one confident, credible voice.

If elected, I will bring energy, judgement and integrity to the Council table. I will listen to members across Wales, ensure their concerns are heard, and use my experience to help BASC influence government, strengthen partnerships and plan confidently for the future.

Shooting has given me friendship, a sense of belonging and pride in the land I call home. It would be an honour to serve as a BASC Council member and to play my part in ensuring the next generation can enjoy the same connection to the countryside that inspires each of us every day.

Angela CharltonAngela Charlton

Glamorgan
Proposed by Bronwen Kate Martin
Seconded by Carl Evans

I was delighted to be co-opted into the BASC Council in 2025. I am enjoying the experience and feel I have made some useful contributions. I would welcome the opportunity to become a BASC Council member to support the association in continuing to be the best in the field.

I took a three-month sabbatical from work, from November 2025 to January 2026, to write and illustrate a book focused on the life of a shoot, including the people, history, working dogs, game and wildlife. Many shoots were extremely open to visits from me and my dogs. I chose to focus on five, which has given me a platform to promote BASC’s key campaigns while gaining a better understanding of the needs and concerns of the shooting community.

I trained as a wildlife artist and went on to focus on environmental education, volunteering and community engagement in the outdoors, as well as practical conservation. I have worked for several conservation bodies focusing on connecting people of all ages to improve biodiversity while recognising the benefits of sustainable shooting, which I am most passionate about.

I am currently the director of Ramblers Wales and enjoy the strategic aspect of my role, developing plans that align with the organisation’s vision. I love engaging with politicians and successfully advocating and influencing change and improvements. I am used to managing large budgets and recently managed a £1.2 million project involving hundreds of volunteers to promote community engagement in local path networks and nature improvements.

As a senior manager of Ramblers, I work co-productively across the nations and believe I can use these skills in a similar way to support the work of BASC. Much as I would as part of my day job in similar circumstances, I took the time to promote BASC’s ‘Act Now’ campaign. More recently, I also promoted the petition opposing Parliament’s proposal to align shotgun and firearms licensing rules. I spoke to many in the shooting community and encouraged them to get involved as well. The Eat Game Awards is another initiative I fully support and promote via social media and on the ground, showing others how I use game meat at home.

My late father, Dr Gareth Davies, was a well-respected Labrador retriever field trialler, trainer and ‘A’ panel judge. He jointly wrote the book The Best of the Best: A History of the IGL Retriever Championship 1909-2011. He inspired me to continue working with my gundogs, and I have been picking up for over 20 years, with a passion for sustainable practices on shoots. I am also a very new and enthusiastic wildfowler with Morlais Valley Wildfowlers and am impressed by the number of young members in that club, as well as the community support and the wealth of knowledge within the membership. I have a passion for promoting county sports in a measured and well-informed way and would welcome the opportunity to be part of a positive future for BASC.

 

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