Giving rural communities more control over local funding and decision making is key to levelling up

Politics Home publishes an opinion piece by Selaine Saxby MP who argues there are far too many left behind rural and coastal communities that are being overlooked by government policies

Saxby draws attention to the difficulties faced by rural communities, including longer distances to amenities, poor infrastructure (both digital and physical), living far away from shops, school or healthcare – all of which drive down rural productivity and impacts the whole country.

When elected, Ms Saxby has been working to connect her North Devon constituency and rural areas across the country and notes that “despite significant government investment, and much improvement in connectivity” the policies need to be looked at through a rural lens to ensure they work for the countryside.

This ‘rurality’ should be a key part of decision-making in Westminster and argues that “giving rural communities more control over local funding and decision making is key to levelling up rural areas.”

Full article:

Politics Home - Giving rural communities more control over local funding and decision making is key to levelling up

View all the Levelling up Analysis completed by the Rural Services Network here