Rural Communities

John Slinger Excerpts

Wednesday 7th January 2026 Commons Chamber

[Terry Jermy (South West Norfolk) (Lab)]

I may be biased, but I believe Norfolk is a beautiful place to grow up and grow old in. It is the place where I was born and raised, and it is where I call home. Like so many rural communities, it is a place that values co-operation, community and compassion, but for so many years those values were tested. We saw Conservative cuts to the very services that bind our communities together, without thought for the long-term implications. In Norfolk, cuts were driven by the Conservative Government and enacted by the Conservative county council—cuts to our children’s services and our youth outdoor education facilities being just a few examples of that insidious decline.

One of the industries that underpins so many of our rural communities is, of course, farming. In a debate about rural communities, we must recognise that farming is in crisis; the Conservatives may be keen to suggest that this is something new, but the reality is that the decline started many years ago and got worse on their watch. It is of particular concern to me that fewer farms will mean bigger farms, and the further industrialisation of farming would trigger the next wave of rural decline. The farm is so integral to rural life, with farmers so often at the core of it. Who serves on the parish councils and the internal drainage boards? Who helps to sponsor the football club or the cricket club? Who gets the cars out of the ditches or the snow off the lanes, as we have seen just this week? It is hard to quantify that value—it cannot be recorded on a balance sheet—but I see it and feel it, as do many other hon. Members.

Farmers in my constituency remember all too well the failures of the past Tory Government and the lack of progress over so many years. Today, we are debating rural issues. If we read the text of the motion, we see that it contains not a single mention of our NHS. It contains nothing about public services such as adult social care, or about dentistry. [Interruption.] Do rural people not get ill? Do they not grow old?

[John Slinger (Rugby) (Lab)]

All the chuntering and laughing from Opposition Members rather indicates that they feel that the—

[Madam Deputy Speaker (Judith Cummins)]

Order. I remind Members that I cannot call their names if I cannot see their faces, even if it is an intervention.

[John Slinger]

I apologise, Madam Deputy Speaker. Does my hon. Friend agree that the chuntering—[Interruption.] Does my hon. Friend agree that the chuntering and laughter, which the Conservatives continue now, rather belie the fact that they seem not to agree that members of the public in rural areas benefit from the very public services that were so decimated by 14 years of their failure?

[Terry Jermy]

I completely agree with my hon. Friend. That is telling—no wonder the Tories do not want to speak about their record on public services and the NHS. I can point them to the first league table for hospitals, which was published last year. My local hospital, the Queen Elizabeth in King’s Lynn, was at the very bottom as the worst hospital in the country. It is not in some large city, but in rural Norfolk.

The hospital served constituents who until recently were represented by a Conservative Prime Minister, albeit fleetingly, and they were badly let down. It also served people represented by a Conservative Health Secretary. The Conservatives allowed our hospital, like our health services more generally, to wither and decline. Norfolk’s other hospitals were not far behind. The East of England ambulance trust, which covers the rural counties of the eastern region, was the worst ambulance trust in the country, and the mental health trust was not far behind.

Rural communities remember all too well the decline they experienced under 14 years of Conservative Governments. Like the rest of the country, they voted for change last year at the general election in 2024, with my seat—a rural seat—recording the greatest swing from Conservative to Labour at a general election ever. It was a complete repudiation of the Conservatives’ performance in rural areas.

There are huge growth opportunities in rural areas, and people are yearning for change. I urge the Government to tap into these opportunities and to allow our progressive Labour values to transform our green and pleasant lands.