Writing in The Telegraph, Conservative leadership candidate Boris Johnson pledged to tackle the digital divide

He said that it was a ‘disgrace’ that there is such a ‘deep digital divide’ in the UK and that ‘so many rural areas and towns are simply left behind’.

Johnson used Spain as an example, where 85 per cent of households have full fibre-optic connection. He laid out plans to close the opportunity gap between the south east of England and the rest of the country ‘partly by levelling up our education funding and providing superb transport infrastructure’ as well as ending the digital divide with changes to planning law and private sector involvement. He also wrote on Twitter: ‘A fast internet connection is not some metropolitan luxury. It is an indispensable tool of modern life. We should commit now to delivering full fibre to every home in the land.’

The Yorkshire Post covers the Country Land and Business Association’s (CLA) campaign, #4GForAll, which has garnered the support of 40 MPs and Peers. The paper pledges its support for the causes, citing the recent Power Up The North campaign, a collaboration between local newspapers across the north of England to call on political parties to ‘give formal backing to the Northern Powerhouse policy’.

Full articles:

→ The Telegraph - Let’s reboot 'left-behind' Britain with a turbo-charged broadband revolution

→ The Yorkshire Post - Time to invest in digital infrastructure in rural communities to Power Up The North - The Yorkshire Post says