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Articles tagged with: rural affairs
The Future Home Standard and growing rural housing supply Partner content
Energy
By Calor Gas
The Future Home Standard and growing rural housing supply
As the Labour government gets set to introduce the Future Home Standard which will see all new homes prohibited from installing fossil fuel based systems, Duncan Carter from Calor outlines how policy makers can learn from the Scottish Government and introduce a standard with the flexibility needed to support rural housing supply by allowing the use of sustainable biomass such as bioLPG.
Labour Sticks To Its Guns On Inheritance Tax Despite Farmer Backlash
Environment
Labour Sticks To Its Guns On Inheritance Tax Despite Farmer Backlash
The Government is holding firm on changes to agricultural relief despite backlash from farmers facing inheritance tax for the first time.
Labour’s Budget is the first step to ending rural health inequity
Environment
By Joe Morris MP
Labour’s Budget is the first step to ending rural health inequity
For 14 years, rural communities were failed by the Conservatives. As the MP for England’s largest rural constituency of Hexham, I have spoken to countless constituents about their frustrations about business, farming, the economy, jobs, housing and, particularly, on health.
Tory MP Harriet Cross on how ultra marathons prepared her for Westminster
Energy
By Tali Fraser
Tory MP Harriet Cross on how ultra marathons prepared her for Westminster
Ultramarathon runner and new MP Harriet Cross talks to Tali Fraser about how the election postponed her engagement, fighting for oil and gas jobs in her constituency, and settling into her second life. Photography by Louise Haywood-Schiefer
Labour: when will we see a timetable for change? Partner content
Environment
By League Against Cruel Sports
Labour: when will we see a timetable for change?
Chris Luffingham, acting Chief Executive of the League Against Cruel Sports, says the time for change is now, but asks if not now, then when?
The UK’s decarbonisation goals and the need for popular consent in policy making Partner content
Environment
By OFTEC
The UK’s decarbonisation goals and the need for popular consent in policy making
Amendments to the Government’s Energy Bill, proposed by former Environment Secretary George Eustice, could help make Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil (HVO) a more affordable option for decarbonising the UK's rural housing stock.
The Government must listen to councillors’ fears over the financial cost of net zero Partner content
Environment
By OFTEC
The Government must listen to councillors’ fears over the financial cost of net zero
The data is clear - rural households need to be given a choice on how they decarbonise.
Partner content
Economy
By Mobile UK
EE Brings 4G Connectivity To A Further 1,500 Rural Communities As Part Of The Shared Rural Network
The rarest of green initiatives: something that works and we know consumers will welcome Partner content
Environment
By OFTEC
The rarest of green initiatives: something that works and we know consumers will welcome
2023 can be the year we get the policy foundations right to support future heat decarbonisation.
A breath of fresh air: Robert Goodwill reviews 'Clarkson's Farm: Season 2'
Books & culture
By Robert Goodwill MP
A breath of fresh air: Robert Goodwill reviews 'Clarkson's Farm: Season 2'
Jeremy Clarkson continues to lay bare the tough realities of farming life – but Kaleb and Gerald are the real stars of the show
Giving rural communities more control over local funding and decision making is key to levelling up
Communities
By Selaine Saxby MP
Giving rural communities more control over local funding and decision making is key to levelling up
The British countryside has always proved a great lure to families seeking a home surrounded by green space, fresh air and a tight-knit community. Whilst all of these are key benefits of rural life, the reality is that there are far too many left behind rural and coastal communities, often overlooked by government policies.
My New Years' Wish... To spend more time in the great outdoors
Environment
By Dan Jarvis MP
My New Years' Wish... To spend more time in the great outdoors
After the drama and tumult of the last 12 months, what might 2023 have in store for us? Here is Dan Jarvis’s resolution.
Decarbonisation: Right solution for the right home? Partner content
Environment
By Calor Gas
Decarbonisation: Right solution for the right home?
Heat pumps are a vital part of the transition to net zero, but they are not the best option for every household.
The government's strategy for rural heating: it's time to deliver on fairness Partner content
Environment
By OFTEC
The government's strategy for rural heating: it's time to deliver on fairness
When the government launched the Heat and Buildings Strategy, it announced consultations on phasing out high carbon fossil fuels in homes and businesses off the gas grid. The outcome of these consultations is yet to be published and the deadlines proposed for the transition to start are getting closer. With the economic situation changing for the worse, is the delay a sign of a shift in the government’s thinking? It’s vital that it is.
Blackcurrant Affairs: Why rural MPs have been visiting growers of one of the nation’s favourite drinks Partner content
Communities
By Suntory Beverage & Food GB&I
Blackcurrant Affairs: Why rural MPs have been visiting growers of one of the nation’s favourite drinks
Ribena is more than a much-loved blackcurrant drink. As MPs have been discovering this summer, there is a story behind the humble bottle of Ribena that is of enormous importance to Britain’s rural communities.
Delivering an affordable net zero future for rural areas Partner content
Environment
By Calor Gas
Delivering an affordable net zero future for rural areas
Rural MPs agree that all solutions must be on the table to help off-grid households decarbonise.
Renewable liquid fuels solve a fundamental problem for off-grid decarbonisation Partner content
Environment
By OFTEC
Renewable liquid fuels solve a fundamental problem for off-grid decarbonisation
It's time to move away from a one size fits all approach when it comes to decarbonising our homes.
We need to tackle the blind-spot on mental health in rural areas
Health
By David Bean
We need to tackle the blind-spot on mental health in rural areas
Success for a select committee is not measured in headlines alone. Committee reports are considered and answered by government, as well as extensive coverage in these pages.
Where’s the ‘fairness’ in using off-grid homes as the testing ground for heat policies? Partner content
Environment
By OFTEC
Where’s the ‘fairness’ in using off-grid homes as the testing ground for heat policies?
The government may be in a hurry to decarbonise Britain's homes and businesses, but in its haste, it is leaving fairness to off-grid households to fall by the wayside.
Is it time to ban trail and drag hunting? Lord Herbert says No
Environment
By Lord Herbert of South Downs
Is it time to ban trail and drag hunting? Lord Herbert says No
Even in these unusual times, tens of thousands of people went to see their local pack of hounds at traditional Boxing Day meets. Seventeen years on from the hunting ban, some 250 packs of foxhounds, harriers and beagles are still going strong. Today, hounds no longer pursue live quarry, but instead the trail of a scented rag.
To win, Labour must become the party of rural Britain
Environment
By Lord Knight of Weymouth
To win, Labour must become the party of rural Britain
We start 2022 with the country reeling from a huge surge of pandemic infection, and the government reeling from a collapse in support in its traditional rural heartlands.
Homes Under The Hammer: Inside Devon's Housing Crisis
Coronavirus
By Georgina Bailey
Homes Under The Hammer: Inside Devon's Housing Crisis
The tranquil Devon countryside has long been a holiday maker’s dream. Yet the explosion in tourist accommodation and second homes during Covid has seen property prices skyrocket to more than 14 times the average local salary. Georgina Bailey reports.
The post office is a crucial lifeline in rural areas – communities will suffer without subsidies
Communities
By Geoffrey Clifton-Brown MP
The post office is a crucial lifeline in rural areas – communities will suffer without subsidies
Post offices are the glue that hold local communities together and often act as an anchor for our high streets and villages.
The Conservatives have taken rural votes for granted – now our farmers and communities are suffering
Environment
By Jim McMahon MP
The Conservatives have taken rural votes for granted – now our farmers and communities are suffering
In the most difficult of times, our rural communities have shown inspiring British resilience. We should celebrate them and the very best of British farming, fisheries and produce throughout our rich supply chains.