51AVÊÓÆµ

Rural poverty 'overlooked and misunderstood' by policymakers, report finds

Rural communities have been overlooked by successive Governments, the report says, with assumptions that they are areas assumed to be 'prosperous, politically peripheral, or resistant to change'

Chris Brayford
clock • 8 min read
Labour Rural Research Group Chair Jenny Riddell-Carpenter said: "For too many policymakers, and for too many departments in Whitehall, rurality is a persistent blind spot - rendering rural poverty invisible. Yet for millions of people across our countryside and coastal communities, hardship is not the exception, it is a daily reality."
Image:

Labour Rural Research Group Chair Jenny Riddell-Carpenter said: "For too many policymakers, and for too many departments in Whitehall, rurality is a persistent blind spot - rendering rural poverty invisible. Yet for millions of people across our countryside and coastal communities, hardship is not the exception, it is a daily reality."

Policymakers must develop a comprehensive strategy to accelerate social and economic mobility in the countryside after a new report revealed poverty in farming communities has been disregarded and misunderstood...

To continue reading...

Already a member? Login for full access.

New to Farmers Guardian? Register for 1 free article per week or become a member for unlimited access to essential farming news and insights.

article-img-580x358

Ìý

More on 51AVÊÓÆµLife

In Your Field: Dan Jones - 'Despite trying to escape farming, I spent much of the journey looking over hedges'

In Your Field: Dan Jones - 'Despite trying to escape farming, I spent much of the journey looking over hedges'

Dan Jones discusses cycling more than 3,000 miles from Trondheim in Norway to Kalamata in Greece

Katie Jones
clock 31 August 2026 • 3 min read
Councillor's request for 'proper' public meeting on Walton solar farm refused by developer

Councillor's request for 'proper' public meeting on Walton solar farm refused by developer

Given the scale of the proposed 22.2-megawatt industrial solar farm, a Shopshire councillor asked the developer for an additional public consultation

Mia Willemsen
clock 30 August 2026 • 3 min read
How a small organic tenant farm inspired a movement

How a small organic tenant farm inspired a movement

Twenty years ago, two young siblings did the seemingly impossible - they saved their family farm from developers. Now, with a new generation of custodians and a bolder vision, Fordhall Organic 51AVÊÓÆµhopes they could inspire many more. Olivia Midgley reports....

Olivia Midgley
clock 28 August 2026 • 5 min read