MP says the Government needs to do more to unlock potential of rural areas
A Shropshire MP has warned that rural communities are facing growing decline as she challenged the Government to deliver real investment following the King’s Speech.
Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, used a speech in Parliament on Monday, 18 May, to highlight mounting pressures on rural areas, including poor broadband and mobile coverage, disappearing local services, failing transport links and growing challenges for farmers.
The MP said that despite around a fifth of the British population living in rural communities, they were still being ignored when it came to investment in the infrastructure needed to support economic growth.
Helen called on the Government to use the King’s Speech as an opportunity to address the challenges faced by rural areas and to deliver the investment needed to unlock growth, support businesses and secure the future of rural communities.
Speaking in a debate on the speech in Parliament, Helen Morgan, MP for North Shropshire, said: “Rural areas like North Shropshire have great untapped potential. What we're not seeing is the infrastructure put in place there to allow them to reach that potential and to provide the economic growth that we need.
“From poor broadband and mobile signal to disappearing bus services and bank branches, the basic infrastructure people rely on is simply not there.”
Helen pointed to major delays to broadband rollout locally, with thousands of homes still waiting years for full fibre connections, alongside widespread mobile signal ‘not-spots’ that leave residents isolated and businesses unable to operate effectively.
The MP also highlighted the collapse of high street banking in North Shropshire, with nearly three-quarters of branches lost since 2015, forcing businesses to travel long distances to access services and holding back investment in market towns.
With Shropshire losing 63% of its bus service miles since 2015, the MP also warned that cuts had left many villages isolated, making it harder for people to get to work and for businesses to recruit staff.
Helen said there had been “poor Government policy decisions”, and highlighted a historical lack of regeneration support for rural areas, coupled with falling council funding.
Helen added: “Shropshire hasn't got Pride in Place funding. It's lost Local Growth funding. It hasn't been given Shared Prosperity funding and now that's been phased out.
“At best it’s unfair and at worst it’s managed decline and it really impacts our ability to regenerate the area. If the Government is serious about economic growth, it must invest in rural communities and give them the tools they need to thrive.”
MPs spend six days debating the multiple Bills and measures that feature in the King’s Speech, which was delivered on 13th May.
