Urban and rural Britain sometimes seem to be treated as separate worlds. They aren’t. They depend on each other, and always have. The strength of our national economy and society depends on both – and each needs the other.
Obviously towns and cities host vital industries, and are home for very many people. The concentration of residents affords centres of nightlife and culture and much more.
But on its own, urban Britain would be much worse off. The countryside feeds our towns and cities, protects our natural environment and biodiversity, and offers space for rest, recharging and recreation for urban dwellers.
Rightly, there has been a focus on farmers and the pressures they face, including over inheritance tax. But there is also much other economic activity that makes the countryside tick, from shops and pubs to high-tech start-ups, all contributing to local employment – but also the wider economy.
In my experience, people in towns value the countryside for its character and uniqueness. Those in rural areas value the energy of towns and cities. We have both exceptional cities and exceptional countryside.
But I worry that this government does not seem to understand rural life – and some of the pressures faced.
Fuel duty increases will inevitably hit people in rural areas harder – because of greater reliance on a car, and longer distances to get to work, school or shops.
Of course, the Iran conflict has already pushed up petrol and diesel costs. That is true many times over for those households – of which we have very many in East Hants – who rely on off-grid home heating fuel, such as Kerosene.
The fall in the birth rate is set to affect schools country-wide (though differently in different individual places), but potentially much more so for some rural schools because of their small size. I raised this directly with the Education Secretary last week: the funding model should move away from such a reliance on ‘per pupil’ amounts.
The government now wants to ban trail hunting. Why? This is exactly what the then government said people should do instead when the original hunting ban came in. It is an important part of local life, supporting jobs and communities.
Housing policy is perhaps the starkest example of government not understanding the countryside.
In a costly area like East Hampshire we do need more housing – and it needs to be of the sorts that young families can afford.
But the government has disproportionately increased the target in rural areas more than urban ones (and in some major cities actually reduced it). This risks changing the character of the countryside without addressing the real need where it is greatest.
The countryside is not a nice-to-have. It is a vital part of national life for everyone – for those who live in it, but everyone else too. It deserves to be understood, supported and protected.
