CLA: Establishing the Rural Wall
Rural Britain covers more than 90 percent of the country’s land, and yet, it feels unseen. The rural economy runs 19% below the UK average, a £43 billion gap. That gap means fewer jobs, lower wages, and young people leaving for towns because they see no future at home. Yet election coverage focused on cities and swing suburbs. Our aim? Make rural policy a live election issue and hold the next government to account in its first 100 days.
Impact
Rural voters were once taken for granted and dismissed as “Shire Tories”. Now, institutions and media see something different: a group of voters with power, pressure, and choices. The campaign secured more than 250 pieces of national coverage and almost 800 in total. The Prime Minister attended the National Farmers’ Union conference for the first time in 15 years. The CLA was invited to Select Committees and consulted directly by government.
Approach
We treated the year like a campaign. Polling with Survation identified 100 of the most rural constituencies and tracked voter priorities. The results showed volatility in seats long assumed to be safe. National titles branded them the “Rural Wall”. The phrase travelled. We filed Freedom of Information requests to 36 police forces and exposed gaps in rural crime resources. Some forces lacked basic equipment such as torches. The BBC ran the story as one of its most-read pieces of the day. We challenged government claims on inheritance tax using member polling and economic analysis to test the Treasury’s numbers. When the Budget landed, we were ready with evidence that shaped national coverage.
