Local Liberal Democrat MP, Nick Harvey has called on the Government to do more to protect people in rural areas.

Commenting on the release of the Report of the Rural Advocate 2007, Nick Harvey MP said:

“I welcome the findings of this report. It is alarming that there are nearly one million homes in rural areas that are living below the Government’s official poverty threshold.

Far too often people in rural areas feel isolated from the politics of Westminster; cuts in rural post offices, medical services and transport provision, to name but a few, only add to this feeling of alienation and it is the most vulnerable who feel it most acutely.

More must be done to listen to people in these areas and support the services that are so vital to them”