Labour and life beyond cities: Towards a social-democratic manifesto for non-metropolitan Britain.
| Author | Ward, Neil |
| Position | LABOUR TRADITION OUTSIDE BIG CITIES |
The 2019 UK general election left the Labour Party with an electoral mountain to climb. The party lost support across every region, and its vote share declined in most small, medium and large towns, while consolidating in cities. Some 60 per cent of the UK population live outside the largest cities (populations of over 250,000), and any prospect of future electoral success will require Labour to appeal to those voters beyond the large metropolitan centres, who live in smaller towns and cities and in more rural areas.
Labour is generally understood to be urban and industrial in its origins and interests, emerging out of the trade union movement of the industrial working classes. Nevertheless, in the 1920s and 1930s a widespread view developed within the party that Labour could only ever form a majority government with the help of rural seats, and so great efforts were made to build capacity and legitimacy in rural areas. (1)
By the late 1930s, Labour had established some basic party organisation in almost all constituencies. By then, the party had a detailed rural policy, advocating land use planning to manage land development and settlement structure, economic planning to support agricultural production, and public access to cherished landscapes and the creation of national parks. The threat to Britain's food security prompted the war-time government to intervene heavily to guarantee agricultural prices and markets and boost production. The war experience inspired a public urge for national renewal to address social inequalities. In 1945, Labour swept to power with 49.7 per cent of the popular vote and a working majority of 146. Of the 203 most rural constituencies, Labour won 69, underpinning Labour's claim to be a national party representing a range of interests and types of localities.
The Attlee and Wilson governments and non-metropolitan Britain, 1940s-60s
Under the Attlee governments, the populations of small towns and rural areas benefited from the new NHS and welfare state. Over a million new homes were built, and increased investment was made in improving utilities. The 1946 New Towns Act paved the way for the construction of almost thirty new towns, markedly changing Britain's settlement structure.
The framework for agriculture, land development and countryside protection rested on three legislative pillars. First, the 1947 Agriculture Act provided farmers with guaranteed markets and prices for their products and brought nothing short of a revolution in agricultural productivity. Built around the twin objectives of stability and efficiency, it gave farmers clarity of purpose and the security to invest and stimulated the modernisation of farming methods as well as radical improvements in productivity. Second, the 1947 Town and Country Planning Act provided the foundation for modern town and country planning. The Act introduced a system of public control of land development and was able to protect agricultural land for production and for amenity purposes. Third, the 1949 National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act established a new system of countryside protection which enabled the creation of ten National Parks and over forty Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty, which are cherished to this day.
While it is commonplace to observe that the 1945-51 governments left a lasting impression on British society, it is less frequently noted that the legacy of policies for agriculture, the countryside and the physical planning of towns and villages endured even longer than the nationalisation of key industries. They supported expansion of food production, protected agricultural land, restrained the urban sprawl that became common in other wealthy nations, and established strong landscape protection.
The 1964-70 Labour governments are best remembered for prime minister Harold Wilson's emphasis on embracing science and technology as an agent of change, as well as for their liberalising social reforms, including repealing the death penalty, decriminalising homosexuality, outlawing racial discrimination, and establishing the Open University. The proportion of young people going to university more than doubled, and the Equal Pay Act of 1970 brought about economic benefits for women.
Yet Wilson's modernism had a rural dimension as well. Outside the cities, New Towns continued to be built, and the 1947 frameworks for agricultural support and land use planning continued broadly intact. The 1960s were a decade of relative prosperity for farmers, with markets guaranteed and prices set through an Annual Price Review that provided continued stability and the direct involvement of farming unions. After the first unsuccessful application to join the then Common Market in the early 1960s, Wilson spent much time preparing the ground for further negotiations, including around farm support and food imports, which eventually led to the UK's accession in 1973.
During Wilson's era, rural areas were increasingly appreciated for their attractiveness, and the conservation movement grew. The 1968 Countryside Act established the Countryside Commission as a new national...
To continue reading
Request your trialCOPYRIGHT GALE, Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.
