Devon is at heart a rural county, and Labour’s vision is for a rural economy that enables every community across the county to thrive, and to be well connected to other communities.

We will do this by:

• • Supporting key industries, including agriculture, fisheries and tourism
• • Supporting small and independent businesses to flourish across the county
• • Promoting the purchase of local produce
• • Promoting the opportunities offered through DCC’s own farm estate to encourage diversification, promote opportunities for young people to enter the industry, and to communicate best practice in farming methods, environmental protection and bio-diversity
• • Pursuing initiatives which ensure every community can be connected to high quality, fast and reliable broadband
• • Promoting the need for regular and affordable transport links to be restored to rural communities and for the devastating impact of Tory privatisation on services to be reversed
• • Supporting rural communities to retain and develop essential local services such as community shops, post offices and GPs surgeries
• • Pressing for full government recognition of the impact of rural sparsity when allocating funding

Food Policy

Devon Labour believes that food should be sourced locally wherever possible, and that affordable, nutritious food should be available to all. We also believe that food waste must be curtailed and that all surplus usable food should be redistributed to those in need.

In support of this policy we will:

• • Work to eliminate holiday hunger for all Devon’s children including providing access to food schemes for those entitled to free school meals
• • Encourage full take up of entitlements to free school meals
• • Design a Food Action Plan to eliminate food poverty so that no one is forced to resort to the use of foodbanks and other charitable sources of food
• • In the meantime, support foodbanks and similar which provide food for those in urgent need