JULY 14 2009

CUMBRIA'S rural way of life could be protected by a new set of policy proposals put forward by the Conservatives today.

With a General Election thought to be less than a year away – and with the Tories looking likely to form the next government – the ideas presented as part of their Rural Action campaign are particularly relevant to Cumbria, one of the most rural counties in the country.

John Stevenson, who as the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Carlisle

could be the city’s next MP, says they are “good news for every man, woman and child living in Cumbria”.

The proposals include everything from introducing new rural bus services to allowing schools more freedom to teach about the rural way of life, and from giving financial assistance to small businesses to finding ways of helping country pubs and post offices.

“They would return power to rural communities, protect rural services and revive the rural economy across Cumbria,” he says.

“Our 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 Cumbra are fully respected. 

“Conservatives will ensure that our county’s rural voice is heard loud and clear, protect our rural services and help revive our rural economy.”

Among the ideas contained in the new policy paper are:

·         Scrapping 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.

 Sweeping away absurd health and safety regulations and allowing teachers more discretion to organise visits to farms and the countryside so children can gain a real understanding of the natural environment and food production.

·         Supporting local post offices, instead of closing them down, and giving them freedom to offer a wider range of services

·         Giving councils new powers to give local business rate discounts so they can support local shops or put empty rural buildings back into use.

• Piloting the successful demand-responsive transport schemes like those which operate in rural areas of mainland Europe.
• Using the existing Sure Start programme to introduce a universal health visitor service for new parents, which will help those in rural areas who might have difficulty accessing post-natal support services.

·         Using unspent money from the TV digital switchover to give remote areas better broadband coverage.

• Creating Local Housing Trusts to develop new homes in villages where there is strong local support for new housing to benefit their community
• Cutting  taxes on low alcohol beers and ciders, and increasing them on problem drinks like high strength ciders and alcopops, to help promote the traditional pub while targeting binge drinking.

ENDS