According to the Conservative Party website the Conservative Party will try to achieve the following if they gain power at the 2010 general election:
Our countryside is home to beautiful landscapes, spectacular views and some of Britain’s most loved towns and villages.
But, after 11 years of Labour, many rural communities are struggling. They’re suffering from a poor transport infrastructure, a lack of affordable housing and hidden poverty. In addition, many of their most valuable services – schools, post offices and health care facilities – are under threat.
A Conservative Government will breathe new life into the countryside with a series of measures, including:
* Shifting decision-making away from central government to local communities
* Increasing access to public services, by encouraging small rural schools and protecting family doctor services
* Fighting rural poverty by creating opportunity, with less regulation on rural businesses, more power to local people to tackle the shortage of affordable homes and a better integrated transport system
Rural communities need a thriving farming industry – but Britain’s farmers have endured a tough decade, faced with animal diseases, excessive regulation and rising fuel prices.
They need a government that works with them, not against them. So we promise to:
* Overhaul farming regulations to lift the burden of unnecessary paperwork and inspections
* Make it easier to buy British by improving food labelling
* Use public procurement to strengthen the link between food grown in our fields and the meals served in our schools and hospitals
This co-operation will be crucial in tackling climate change and the threats to our food security – and it will help to rebuild the broken bond of trust between rural communities and the government.
Conservative Party Countryside Policy :http://www.conservatives.com/Policy/Where_we_stand/Countryside.aspx
I would be interested to hear both positive and negative views on Conservative’s Countryside policies in the comments below?