Almost 10m rural voters risk being left behind at next election, campaign warns

09 July 2023 , 23:01

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Campaigners have called for better transport networks in rural areas (Image: Belmond)

Almost 10 million rural voters risk being left behind at the next general election, campaigners warn today.

Leading countryside groups fear the political system is continuing to ignore the inequalities facing rural communities and businesses. The Rural Coalition, an alliance of 13 national organisations championing a living, working countryside, has issued an urgent appeal for all political parties to empower rural areas in election manifestos.

It has published a roadmap, ‘A better future for rural England: An opportunity for change’, to ensure the challenges of Rural England’s 9.7 million people are not overlooked. It calls for an upgrade of the electricity grid and more investment in digital networks and rural transport links. The alliance wants services to be delivered at as local a level as possible to ensure they meet local needs and are readily available to the community.

The alliance wants services to be delivered at as local a level as possible (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

It wants a cross-departmental strategy for rural England to deliver sustainable growth for communities and businesses and to address the gap between urban and rural public funding. But crucially the alliance also wants to devolve decision-making and responsibilities to the most local level, so services are tailored to rural needs.

Chair of the Rural Coalition, Margaret Clark, said: “Nearly 10 million people live in rural England, more than in Greater London. They should not be unfairly disadvantaged simply because of geography, but must have fair access to jobs, to housing and to basic services.

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“Rural communities will play an important role in choosing who forms the next government. Addressing their needs and potential means a sea change in the way rural areas are perceived and treated.

“Achieving the economic and social growth envisaged will only prove possible with sustained effort across government to tackle the challenges of structural inequalities, fragile infrastructure and economic weaknesses which hold back rural areas.”

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Sophie Huskisson