Cost of living in countryside soars by £2,000
We have been drawing attention to the issue of higher living costs in rural places for years and the publication of this NFU report furthers our arguments. The Western Morning News has I think, the best article on the issue – telling us:
An analysis of spending on items including fuel, electricity, food and drink showed that “rural inflation” increased by 7.7 per cent over the past year, compared to the national average of 4.3 per cent.
It means a basket of 21 goods and services, from petrol and food bills to vehicle repair costs, totalled £5,992 a year for people living in rural areas. The UK average is £3,986.
The report, the insurer’s new quarterly Countryside Living Index, said the gulf was down to increased fuel and electricity prices, which had a bigger impact on people living in the countryside.
Tim Price, NFU Mutual rural affairs spokesman, said: “For some time there has been concern from our customers that rural communities are being disproportionately hit by rising prices – particularly for heating and transport.
“The results provide hard evidence that this is indeed the case.
“In many parts of the countryside in the South West, these rises are making it particularly hard for many rural dwellers to make ends meet.”
The long-standing issue of the high price of petrol and diesel in the countryside and the distances involved in getting goods to shops, as well as the miles travelled by shoppers, were largely to blame for the cost of living increase.
To misquote a Neil Kinnock Speech – “tomorrow if you decide to move to the countryside, dont get sick, dont get cold and dont lose your job!”
July 6, 2012 @ 8:00 am
1 Why do people in the London area get London weighting allowance?
2 In a village on Exmoor there are 15 houses up for sale. Average completion rate is three per year.
Many people in rural Devon and Somerset are trying or need to move into the towns due to costs and levels of services.
£1 tax on the fuel to get a pint of milk?
July 11, 2012 @ 7:19 pm
Very true! Many thanks for your comment!
August 15, 2012 @ 10:45 am
Urban areas are more connected with the rest of the world, more actvie, people travel more and the education os vastly superior; therefore, the overall intellect is much higher, so they vote liberal.Ignorant hicks with no clue about the world and only the bible as the source for all answers and common inbreeding, underdeveloped intellect and no education whatsoever don’t know any better than to keep voting for other backwater hicks, republicans.
August 15, 2012 @ 11:50 am
Rural people are not exosepd to as much diversity and therefore are more afraid of people and ideas that are different than those they’ve lived with all their lives. Rural people percentage wise are usually not as well educated as urban people.