The Rural Services Network is the national champion for rural services and aims to provide a strong voice for people in rural areas.

With the announcement of the election on 12th December, they have a number of activities planned to raise awareness of RURAL throughout the campaigning.

This has been dubbed the ‘Brexit election’ by some commentators, and it’s clear that the UK’s departure from the European Union is certainly at the forefront of voters’ minds. However, Brexit is just one issue, and the next government will be tasked with funding and setting the national priorities for our schools, hospitals, social care, transport and police service too. It’s crucial that our system works for everyone, including those in rural areas.

That is why the Rural Services Network has planned a programme of engagement during this election campaign – to ensure that rural voices are heard during this crucial time.

The strength of our voice relies on the support of our membership. That is why we are calling on our members to help us engage with parliamentary candidates in the run up to December 12th and raise up the RURAL VOICE.

Our upcoming activities are set out below:

Contribute to hustings

During this election period, candidates will be taking part in hustings around the UK. Below, we have detailed key statistics and a number of suggested questions that you can put to your candidates at these events.

Social media activity

Additionally, next week, on the 19th November, we will be circulating an infographic for use on our member organisations own social media accounts on 20th November, which urges political candidates to think about rural affairs during the campaign as well as highlighting some of the inequalities which exist between urban and rural areas. Some suggested words will be included to accompany the image, and we would encourage you to tag your local candidates and political parties in your posts to ensure our activity reaches them. With all members taking part on a nominated day, we hope the campaign will gain more attention.  

Contact your local papers

During an election campaign, local newspapers are the most trusted source of news for the electorate and candidates alike. That’s why we’re asking for your help to reach as many local papers across the UK as possible to ensure our message reaches candidates and voters all over the country. On the 26th November, the RSN will circulate a template ‘Letter To The Editor’ calling on Parliamentary candidates not to forget rural issues, as well as some additional statistics tailored for each region in England. We would be grateful if you would select the facts and figures most relevant to your area and insert them into the letter. We intend for members to then send this letter to their local newspaper. RSN will of course provide guidance on how to do this. We hope many of you will be keen to participate.

If you have questions about any of the activity above, please do get in touch with our Chief Executive at [email protected]