Communities
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Let’s fire up Labour’s local elections campaign by twinning London members with activists in the countryside | Hywel Lloyd
To govern the nation well means being in touch with the realities of the whole of the nation. To have a chance of representing the nation at the very least means being present in every community – whether you see representation as just providing a voice or an elected representative. Both can be of help…
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Sustainable Villages: Rural Housing for the Future
Having lived for much of my life in the Forest of Dean, a glorious forest and a group of small communities between the Severn and the Wye, I’m all too aware of the problems, and in some cases the opportunities, that present themselves on the issue of rural housing. As in most rural areas, we…
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We urge you to vote REMAIN on June 23rd
Given the momentous vote of the 23rd June, and its implications for communities of coast and country, we urge every citizen to vote REMAIN. Labour: COAST & COUNTRY believes in the principles of cooperation and mutual support. The public sector has a vital role to play investing in a safer, more productive, more sustainable future, and…
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Don’t forget Labour in local democracy even in Wiltshire!
A glorious evening of dappled sunshine, a light breeze and blue skies welcomes members of Chippenham CLP to their AGM in the Church Hall of St Patrick’s Church in Corsham. Yet again another new community hall, funded by local fundraising efforts; a complement to local civic activists supporting the future of their community (and a…
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West is best . . . fighting for a Labour Welsh Assembly
One of the familiar strap-lines of the Scarlets; and an oft repeated remark of my west coast friends and family. Last weekend saw a significant pick up in the campaigning for the Welsh Assembly elections. We joined comrades on the Gower, in Llanelli and in Ogmore to support their respective AM West is best candidates – Rebecca Evans…
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LCC Fringe – Conference 2015
Sunday lunch-time of the first day of Conference 2015 saw over 40 members from across England and Wales gather to reflect on what next for Labour in communities of coast and country. After moving to a larger room to accommodate everyone more comfortably, a wide ranging discussion occupied those present for almost two hours. That discussion…
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Off the Beaten Tracks
A recent study by Labour has warned that more than 30 million miles of bus journeys have been lost to cuts, leaving many people and communities isolated. And it is Britain’s rural areas that are hit worst. The Labour frontbench’s excellent new shadow secretary of state for transport, Michael Dugher, claims that vital rural routes…
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Defra threatens to cut funding to rural action network
Just before Christmas on a cold, snowy day in Buxton I was one of the guest speakers at Rural Action Derbyshire’s AGM. I have known Rural Action Derbyshire (RAD), which is part of the ACRE network, and the excellent work it does in a number of incarnations over the years. Like me it maybe that…
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Raising Aspirations in Coast and Country
It does not take much for figures on social mobility to astound our consciousness. Given one in every six children are still in relative poverty, it seems Britain is still a broadly unequal society. This situation underpins any modern progressive: spurring each of us on in finding solutions to tackle these problems. Under the last Labour…
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Majority government starts in west Wales
The delightful counties of Pembrokeshire and Carmarthenshire contain four parliamentary seats, all of which have been Labour, which we need to win again if we are to have a good chance of achieving a majority government in 2015. Taken together these seats are perhaps a microcosm of the challenge we face to win a majority…