Written by We’re happy to support and promote the following online session with Labour’s new Rural Affairs Shadow, Daniel Zeichner MP. See below for further details and to RSVP.
There are plenty of news articles about people wanting to flee the cities for rural idylls yet coronavirus has not been plain sailing for people who already live in the countryside, some of whom had also experienced their own local lock-down with Foot and Mouth in the early 2000s. Join Daniel Zeichner MP, Shadow Minister for Food and Rural Affairs, to discuss “Covid-19: the rural dimension” at 18:30 on Thursday 4th June.
For too long rural communities have seen under-investment and decline. Post Offices were listed by the Government as being an essential and have stayed open but of course many rural post offices have already disappeared. Meanwhile people told to work at home are struggling with slow rural broadband and poor phone signal, while those that are key workers can only get to work with a car given the decline in bus services. Farmers worry who will pick the crops and the tourism industry is being decimated.
How should we respond? How are town and parish councillors rising to the challenge? And how can we can work to protect and enhance a thriving countryside that enriches all our lives?