Time for change and a fairer deal for rural communities and Redditch County
… New policy proposals to protect rural services and help the rural economy

Karen Lumley Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman for Redditch County this week gave strong backing to a new set of rural policy proposals by the Conservatives. They would return power to rural communities, protect rural services and revive the rural economy across Redditch County which includes Feckenham, Cookhill, Inkberrow, Hanbury and the Lenches.

The new policy paper, launched as part of the Conservatives’ Rural Action campaign, sets out a series of proposals to end Labour’s notorious ‘decade of disrespect’ for rural communities. They include plans to:

• Scrap limits on surplus places so that good schools in villages and small towns can thrive and new ones can open where parents, not Whitehall, want them. Official figures show that 7 schools have closed across Worcestershire under the Labour Government.
• Give councils new powers to give local business rate discounts so they can support local shops or put empty rural buildings back into use.
• Support local Post Offices, giving them freedom to offer a wider range of business services and encourage local authorities to open ‘council counters’ in local branches.
• Use unspent money from the TV digital switchover to give remote areas better broadband coverage.
• Ensure fairer funding for both Redditch and Wychavon, and devolve down funding and powers currently held by distant regional quangos.

Karen said:

“Rural Redditch County has suffered a decade of disrespect by Labour. Local services have been scrapped, rural communities have been denied a say, and power has been taken away from them.

“We need a new approach to reverse Labour’s centralisation and interference from Whitehall bureaucrats, so that rural communities and the rural way of life across Reddit County are fully respected.

“Over the past decade the Government has shown itself to be deaf to the concerns of the countryside. Conservatives will ensure that Redditch County’s rural voice is heard loud and clear, protect our rural services and help revive our rural economy.”