The Yorkshire Post says: A county’s calling – Bishop of Ripon champions farmers and rural issues

HAVING served in New Zealand, the Right Reverend Dr Helen-Ann Hartley – the still relatively new Bishop of Ripon – is acutely aware of the importance of the imminent lambing season to farmers.
The Bishop of Ripon wants greater recognition for people who live and work in rural Yorkshire.The Bishop of Ripon wants greater recognition for people who live and work in rural Yorkshire.
The Bishop of Ripon wants greater recognition for people who live and work in rural Yorkshire.

She also appreciates, following her move to the Dales last year, the extent to which issues pertaining to farming, and rural affairs, are overlooked by London-centric politicians.

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And while her desire to “bring the Palace of Westminster north to the countryside”, so debates can take place “in the midst of the lives of those who struggle to find a voice or a sense of being valued”, will fall on deaf ears because it would take too many MPs out of their comfort zone, her observation that Britain needs “a more comprehensive rural strategy” is prescient and should be taken up.