CEFIN CAMPBELL, Plaid Cymru Senedd Member for Mid and West Wales, has this week formally launched a new strategy to tackle rural poverty in Wales. Based on the most recent research on the causes and drivers of rural poverty, and a period of extensive stakeholder engagement, the new strategy makes recommendations across a range of policy areas, including transport, housing, energy, childcare, digital and business support. Critically, the strategy proposes that there should be a statutory duty for public bodies in Wales, from the Welsh Government down, to fully rural proof their policies and programmes.
Speaking following the launch, Cefin Campbell MS said: “We know – and the evidence shows – that rural poverty and urban poverty are different – they have different causes, drivers and consequences.
“Throughout my time in the Senedd, I have been calling on the Welsh Government to develop a tailored strategy to tackle rural poverty and promote rural development.
“These calls have consistently fallen on deaf ears, so I have undertaken to develop such a strategy myself.
As an elected representative for the largely rural region of Mid and West Wales, I am proud to be launching this strategy. It outlines a range of measures that, with the appropriate reprioritisation of resources and a fairer settlement for our rural communities, are all implementable in the short term. These include measures to improve access to and take of benefits in rural areas, investment in our bus network, expansion of the childcare offer, and new supports for rural businesses.
Above all, the strategy highlights a need for policies at all levels to be properly rural proofed, and for this need to be put on a statutory footing, following the example of Northern Ireland’s Rural Needs Act.”
Plaid Cymru Leader, Rhun ap Iorwerth MS, added: “I would like to congratulate Cefin on the launch of this strategy, which I am determined will form a key part of our policy offer as we look to 2026.
“It is a demonstration that Plaid Cymru is on the side of our rural communities, and that only a Plaid Cymru government will deliver the real fairness that rural Wales deserves.
“Our rural areas are facing an number of challenges – all exacerbated by the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, and Plaid Cymru is serious about doing the hard work to overcome these.”
