The LCC team

Communities of the Country may not have always been seen to be electorally important to Labour, yet without some support from these communities, without some reflection of their needs and concerns, and their futures, Labour will neither win where it could, given so many of these issues are reflections of those we already campaign on, nor govern as well as it might.

As we approach our annual Virtual Coast & Country Conference this Saturday we recognise the real opportunity of it being the last before a General Election, and before Labour’s manifesto will be written, so what a good Labour offer to Country communities could be key – Hence it as the subject of one of our panel discussions on Saturday (you can register here).  That panel, chaired by Baroness Sue Hayman and featuring Alex Norris MP, Shadow Minister for Policing, Colin Smyth, MSP, Scottish Labour MSP South Scotland and a special guest, will hear the LCC view on Labour’s offer, as presented by our Steering Group member Ant Reid, LCC, Cllr on both Eccleshall Parish and Stafford Borough Councils.

Over the past year we have been working with the LCC network, members of the growing CPTNetwork of Labour and Cooperative Community, Town or Parish Councillors, as well as engaging Labour MPs and Peers in Parliamentary dinners to capture what country communities are saying, their issues and concerns, as well as emerging and deployed Labour solutions.  They have identified a wide variety of potential offers Labour could make, suggestions that feed into Pam’s presentation.  

While the detail of that is for Saturday here’s a flavour of some of the ideas suggested, to whet your appetite for that discussion…

All set in the context of the need for a new national vision for Rural Britain.