While the debate rages as to whether May’s English local election results were a springboard for a Labour win at Westminster, there is no doubt that the party’s performance in rural areas continues to flag. Again and again, when it came to the shire counties, Labour struggled – a state of affairs that has become endemic under various leaders.
But there is one straw in the wind that demonstrates that Labour can win votes in the countryside – with the rise of a brand new party in Herefordshire. Now, Herefordshire may strike you as a place that produces cider, Sun Valley chickens – and not much else. But the rise of this new party and the policy platform they have adopted does demonstrate that a progressive agenda can win votes in rural areas.
Admittedly the new party’s name, It’s Our County, has something of a UKIP air about it. But it is now the second biggest party on Herefordshire Council – behind the Conservatives – and is successfully challenging the Tories’ countryside citadels. It’s Our County’s policy platform includes the statement that has some synergy with the old Clause Four of Labour’s constitution. “We believe this is an enlightened county that prefers to put quality of life before rampant profit and growth.”
When it comes to creating jobs and regeneration, its focus is on local growth rather than prestige projects. The new party states: “Locally owned small to medium-sized businesses are Herefordshire’s strong point. We believe that this strength should be prioritised when developing regeneration policies for the county.”
Its focus on community echoes Ed Miliband’s view that this is the time to face up to areas where there are fractured communities. “In the future, community resilience is likely to become ever more important due to global and national financial and environmental challenges.”And its condemnation of the Tories and the Liberal Democrats is sure to strike many a chord with Labour voters.
The new party has failed to enunciate a clear vision to tackle a range of social and economic problems and a Labour approach to tackling rural poverty in Herefordshire would have more of an impact in turning around the fortunes of this county. But the fact that It’s Our County gained nine councillors on its first electoral outing demonstrates the power that this progressive agenda has for rural communities
.It also shows how Labour needs to up its game in rural areas. For instance, in Herefordshire, in two of the wards where It’s Our County won seats, there was no Labour candidate on the ballot paper. So it is vital for Labour that the Third Place First campaign, launched in January, is a success. Launched by Shadow Education Secretary Andy Burnham and led by experienced local councillor Keith Dibble, the campaign does not accept there are some areas that should be written off by Labour.W
hen it comes to the countryside, there is a plethora of issues that only a genuine Labour voice can address. For instance, Unite and other unions are trying to stop the Government abolishing the Agricultural Wages Board. Farm workers are already one of the lowest-paid groups in the country and the abolition of the board can only make matters worse for 154,000 agricultural workers in England and Wales. When it comes to isolating hard-up rural families from accessing essential public services and getting jobs, the decisions by councils in Northamptonshire, Cumbria and Somerset to cut bus services will make daily life even more difficult.
With the watchdog Consumer Focus warning of further cuts in rural post offices, the day-to-day struggles of local people is an issue on which Labour can lead focused campaigns – giving hope that real change can be delivered. A greater focus on rural concerns would highlight how the countryside counts when it comes to improving our economy.
According to the last Labour Government’s Rural Advocate, the English rural economy has the potential to create as much as £347 billion a year. Newcastle University’s Centre for Rural Economy has found that farming accounts for just 2.6 per cent of rural jobs. Eighty per cent of rural employment is in distribution and retailing, business and financial services, public administration, education, training, health and – finally – manufacturing.
So, there is a progressive case to be made in terms of the fairness agenda – improving the lives of “squeezed middle” rural families and diversifying our economic base means that now is the time to focus on rural voters. As far as the future of It’s Our County is concerned, the likelihood is that it will eventually fizzle out once the momentum dies down. That is we have seen with another local party which was set up in nearby Worcestershire. Keeping a party going is a hard grind. But the electoral success of It’s Our County’s aspirational agenda means that the time has arrived for Labour to break into the Tories’ countryside citadel
