Labour Urged to Prioritise Rural Britain

A new report from the Labour Rural Research Group, in partnership with the Country Land and Business Association, says Labour's reset must include a fresh approach to rural Britain if the party is serious about delivering economic growth across the whole country.

The Future of the Rural Economy warns rural communities are too often treated as peripheral to national economic policy, despite their central role in delivering food security, clean energy, housing, nature recovery and long-term growth.

The Labour Party's 2024 manifesto had one dedicated section on farming - two paragraphs totalling 87 words.

New national polling in the report finds voters back a stronger Labour focus on rural Britain: almost two-thirds - 63 per cent - said it would be the right decision to make rural communities and the rural economy a higher priority. When asked about Labour's offer under a potential Andy Burnham premiership, 40 per cent were not confident the party would strengthen its offer.

The report says rural Britain remains economically significant, "supporting millions of jobs, hundreds of thousands of businesses and major national supply chains."

It notes rural areas are central to priorities from food security, clean energy and nature recovery to housing, manufacturing, tourism, public service resilience and regional growth.

But the authors point to a productivity gap that they say reflects structural barriers rather than a lack of talent: weaker infrastructure and transport links, housing shortages, labour market pressures, planning delays, limited access to finance and unequal public services.

Those barriers make it harder for rural businesses to scale, employers to recruit, and for young people and key workers to stay - reducing rural communities' contribution to national prosperity.

Olivia Bailey, the Labour MP for Reading West and Mid Berkshire, who represents a large rural area, has led Parliamentary debates on affordable rural housing. She warns a lack of affordable homes pushes younger generations out, leading to school closures, the loss of local pubs and cuts to services for older people.

She urged West Berkshire Council to step up its ambition to deliver the small developments rural villages need, including supporting Rural Exception Sites such as the scheme under way in Beenham.

Ms Bailey said: "I am delighted to have led this debate on affordable rural housing, raising the concerns shared by my constituents in villages across West Berkshire directly with the housing minister. This Labour Government is committed to tackling the housing crisis, and that includes working with local communities, councils, housing associations and developers to deliver the affordable housing that we need in our area."

The report says West Berkshire Council has a mixed record. The council has prioritised affordable housing, but completions in rural parishes remain low because of so-called viability challenges and a lack of council-owned housing stock. Around 74 per cent of rural West Berkshire sits within the North Wessex Downs National Landscape, with heavy planning constraints.

The council relies on private developer contributions and Rural Exception Sites - small developments of usually 12 dwellings or less that bypass usual planning constraints to house local people in perpetuity. Progress has been slow and depends on proactive parish housing surveys and private land availability.

James Naish MP, vice-chair of the Labour Rural Research Group and lead author of the report, said: "As this new report sets out, rural communities shouldn't be seen as peripheral to national renewal - they are places where growth can be generated, productivity unlocked and national priorities delivered, from food security, nature restoration and flood mitigation to new housing and energy generation."

The report adds: "Getting this right will correct long-term failings and enable rural communities to benefit as they make a much-needed contribution to Britain's economic growth."

Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter