The Countryside Alliance is encouraging members and supporters to take part in The National Conversation, a major new UK-wide listening exercise established by the Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion.
The Commission was formed in the aftermath of the riots seen across parts of the UK in the summer of 2024, bringing together senior figures from across the spectrum of politics, academia and civil society to consider how we can strengthen the ties that bind communities together. Co-chaired by the former Members of Parliament Sir Sajid Javid and John Cruddas, it aims to develop a practical vision for how people across the country can live well together.
At the heart of this next phase of the Commission’s work is a national survey, independently designed and run by Nuffield College, University of Oxford, to hear directly from people in every nation and region about their experiences of community life.
The Countryside Alliance was pleased to be invited to contribute to the Commission’s original consultation last year, particularly because it had been recognised that rural voices were underrepresented in the responses received to date. More recently, the Alliance was also invited to give a presentation during the stakeholder launch webinar for The National Conversation, helping ensure that the experiences and concerns of rural communities are heard as this important work continues.
In both our written submission and subsequent remarks, we argued that community cohesion must not be viewed solely through the lens of race relations or the challenges of densely populated urban areas. Those issues matter greatly, but cohesion also means strengthening relationships across the whole national community: including between urban and rural Britain.
Too often, people living in rural areas feel that decisions affecting their lives are shaped by those with little understanding of the countryside, rural work, land management or the realities of living in sparsely populated communities. We highlighted the higher costs often faced by rural households and businesses, pressures on local services, and the sense among many country people that their way of life is misunderstood or dismissed.
We also argued that greater understanding between urban and rural communities should be a national priority, including through better access to outdoor education and more opportunities for people to experience and appreciate the countryside firsthand.
The Countryside Alliance intends to submit our own response to the survey and will share further details in due course, likely coinciding with what is planned to be a well-publicised public launch in the week of 18 May.
What is also essential, however, is that that people from rural communities respond to the survey on their own behalf. If rural voices are missing, rural concerns risk being overlooked once again. We therefore strongly encourage Countryside Alliance members and supporters to take part in The National Conversation and ensure that the realities of countryside life are properly represented.