Simon Hart is Chief Executive of the Countryside Alliance and the Conservative prospective parliamentary candidate for Carmarthen West and South Pembrokeshire.
Last week - along with Kate Hoey, the Countryside Alliance chairman and Labour MP for Vauxhall - I launched the Countryside Alliance's Rural Manifesto. No great surprise there you might say; every lobby group will be doing the same over the coming months - but ours is a bit different.
It seeks to attract endorsement from individual members of the public, which will be presented to the three main parties prior to the General Election. We want it to be read, we want it to generate discussion and we want it to make people think. We want the main parties to abandon any preconceived notions they may have as to its origins and embrace it.
The Rural Manifesto cover five topics: housing, transport, rural services, farming and, of course, repeal of the Hunting Act. At the heart of the matter is our desire to inform, persuade and educate our audience.
This is not a random choice, nor are these five necessarily the most important issues for everyone. What they do represent is a five piece jigsaw. Each piece connects with the next. Some have huge practical implications, whilst others make important political statements.
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