… Among the areas the Welsh MP believes to have been neglected under Conservative rule are community sustainability and digital connectivity. He says that despite many farmers and small businesses relying on broadband for their survival, speeds in Devon and Somerset, as well as other rural parts of Britain, are still too slow.
“The contrast between Devon and Somerset and Cornwall was quite startling,” he says. “The speeds were something like 80-90% in Cornwall, slipping down to 40% or 28% in Somerton and Frome, 42% in North Devon.
“We know these are challenges but these are economies that are dependent on that.”
Although he has already drawn up a list of priorities -incuding cuts to tourism VAT – Mr Williams says the results of the comprehensive spending review will be the true test of the Government’s commitment to rural communities. He joins fellow Lib Dems in predicting Defra funding will take a big hit.
“I just hope there isn’t a caricature that all is rosy in the proverbial garden of England, because that isn’t the case,” he says. “There is a lot of hardship, and there is still the blight of rural deprivation in large parts of Britain that needs to be addressed – and Defra has a role in doing that.
“That’s why our party is seeking and developing a strong rural narrative.”
East Devon Watch 