In Stow-on-the-Wold resistance seems yet to mobilised but US vice-president and influx of tourists divides opinion
T
he narrow lanes and honeyed stone walls of the Gloucestershire market town of Stow-on-the-Wold are not the setting where one would expect to see an angry altercation – unless it was a standoff between Range Rovers for the last parking spot in the gridlocked market square.
This is a place of ancient doorways and expensive condiments, where the pavements are dotted with teashops and vintage cars drift past with their roofs down and a plaque on the war memorial records the last time a battle was fought here, in 1646.
But could this almost parodistically charming town, or another very like it, soon find itself at the heart of the angry US culture wars? According to reports, the US vice-president, JD Vance, will be holidaying in the Cotswolds with his family next month, and protesters are determined to let him know just how warm the welcome will not be in England’s chocolate box countryside.
