Over the past few months, I’ve been working with colleagues in Parliament to take a closer look at how national policy reflects life in rural areas. Too often, decisions made in Westminster are shaped by the needs of towns and cities, and don’t always reflect the reality of living in places like Kirton and Falkenham, or other parts of Suffolk Coastal.
To help change that, I’ve helped to establish – and now chair – a new group in Parliament: the Labour Rural Research Group. This group brings together Labour MPs who represent rural or semi-rural areas, and aims to ensure rural communities are properly understood and reflected in national policy. As I said in my recent East Anglian Daily Times opinion piece, successive governments – of all political persuasions, and for many decades – have had a ‘rural blind spot’ and they’ve failed to grasp the realities of rural Britain, and the challenges of delivering public services or driving investment into our rural communities.
Our first report, Understanding Rural Britain, published in August and available on my website, draws on the views and experiences of over 1,400 people living in rural parts of England, Scotland and Wales. It highlighted some important concerns – including the lack of opportunities for young people, and the sense that many feel they have to move away from rural areas in order to get on and succeed in life.
As someone who grew up here and moved away, only to return in my late 30s, this resonates with me deeply. I know we need to do more to create (and sustain) opportunities for young people in places like Suffolk Coastal and Suffolk as a whole.
Our next area of work will explore rural poverty and how we best tackle it, and I’ll be working with local and national partners to make sure our experiences here in Suffolk Coastal are properly heard and understood.
Finally, I’m looking forward to hosting my first community day in Langley Avenue, on Saturday 13th September,1.30pm-4.30pm at both the Langley Avenue Sports Field and the Basic Life Café on Langley Avenue. I’ve brought lots of partners, charities, as well as local and national companies together to kindly support a community fun day – with lots of free goodies, including free ‘back to school’ items, as well as games, and lots of things to get involved with on the day. I hope to see you there – more details available on my website.
As ever, if you need support, get in touch via the details below.
Email: jenny.riddellcarpenter.mp@parliament.uk
Telephone: 01394 330260
Website: www.jennyforsuffolkcoastal.org
Leave a Reply