Future Countryside 2024 will bring ambition and energy to rural policy
The purpose of Future Countryside 2024 is to bring ambition and energy to rural policy. This matters because the future of the countryside is being decided now. All sorts of pressures are changing it fast and radically. This will affect the lives of everyone in Britain, urban as well as rural: determining the future of what we eat, whether our natural environment is healthy; whether our landscapes are beautiful; our water supplies clean; how we create energy; whether rural communities are strong; whether traditions survive and whether people wherever they live have access to green places to stay fit and happy.
These are big issues core to national success. They attract huge public interest. There is mass backing for a rural landscape that is better for all the people of Britain and better for nature too. Research conducted for Future Countryside in 2023 revealed that British people are incredibly proud of our countryside (second only to our NHS) with almost everyone (93%) agreeing that it should be regarded as part of our national heritage. The research, conducted by ORB International, also highlighted how the countryside is cherished by the whole population, with three in five (59%) saying that protecting the countryside is “very important”.
So in an election year, in particular, rural policy should count. But something is wrong. It is almost always treated as a specialist and secondary issue. Decisions have been made inconsistently, sometimes accidentally, and with little public or political understanding or joined up ambition. Our research showed that four times more people (36%) think those who live and work there are better placed to run the countryside than politicians (8%). People also reported an urban/rural divide, but one which relates to how we feel rather than any actual conflict between town and country. Animosity and misunderstanding comes from single-issue campaigns creating conflict where we should have fair debate and more in common than divides us.
In 2023 Future Countryside’s inaugural event proved the need for a new approach to the countryside, a place for all sorts of voices to be heard linked by the fact they care about the state of rural Britain. The anthology of ideas from the 2023 event on what makes the countryside healthy, vibrant and resilient can be found online here and here.
In 2024, our ambition is for Future Countryside to expand on the success of last year. Ahead of an election the event will allow the nation’s potential leaders to make their case for the countryside - and listen and learn, too. But it will also be a place to hear from those making rural Britain work, helping natural recovery, economic success and better lives. It will be a day of inspiration, connection and ambition intended to share choices about the future of rural Britain with all of us who need it to succeed. As co-founders, Nick Herbert and I look forward to seeing you there.