Rural recovery: Will Government help or hinder?

The full effect of these is neatly summarised in a new report by the Rural Coalition group of campaigners, which says that vast swathes of rural Britain are becoming "part dormitory, part theme park and part retirement home".

The fact that a shortage of affordable homes has driven so many young people out of the countryside, while more and more houses are snapped up by affluent commuters and those who wish to see out their twilight years in beautiful surroundings, is a long-standing indictment of government housing policy. Yet the fact that these trends, along with continued lack of investment in rural services, are hindering the development of thriving economies in many villages and small towns has become ever more starkly highlighted by the recession and its aftermath.

The new Government would have us believe that it has the policies to repair this situation. Certainly, the idea of giving local councils the powers – and the money – to shape their own housing policies would give real impetus to a rural recovery. And the notion of community ownership of shops, pubs and local services surely dovetails with David Cameron's promise to create the "Big Society" where neighbourhood involvement and individual responsibility take the place of the state.

All the more reason, then, for the Government to

make it clear that its plans for the countryside involve far more than treating rural Britain as an easy target for spending cuts.