Ant Reid

You’ll remember the scene from Life of Brian, where the character Reg ends up listing out a long, long, list of what Romans bring for the people in the city.  It’s worth having a quick refresher, John Cleese at his best, most dismissive…!  It got us thinking. You see, with summer here and much of the Labour Party off to the countryside and coastal places, it’s probably worth getting a reminder of what Coast & Country brings ….

I’ll kick us off with the big one: power!  

Labour Majorities come from Coast & Country – just look at the numbers. The clear majority of Labour seats are significantly urban (70%+), yet only when you add in the 157 seats with a fair proportion of rural, or coastal, or both, do we get to Labour’s 2024 majority (see also 1997, 1945).  We get to serve our people, make better decisions for the country and achieve everything else, through a majority that depends on Coast & Country communities – well worth remembering for elections to come…

A lot of our urban seats have been ‘core’ areas for Labour, the places we have a strong presence, excellent data, experienced campaign teams, and good connections with the community helping understand what they need and value. Yet in the Coast & Country areas, those areas that majorities are made of, we have less organisation, less solid support, with fewer of the relationships that Labour needs to fully understand why these areas trusted Labour in 2024, and how we’ll keep earning that trust into the 2030s.

So… we thought we’d ask…  Reg had a long list of what the Romans did for them… Help us build that list for Labour – what else have Coast & Country ever done for Britain? What do we in the countryside and coastal areas give Britain (and cities)? Whether you are sunning yourself on a beach, or hiking in the hills, splashing around in lakes or enjoying a quiet life in some village idyll, let us have your contribution.  

Send us your suggestion for the list, and say some words about why. We’ll build that list…