A simple stat for you to start: there are four mentions of 'rural' in the Budget document released by the Treasury today (available here) and 13 for 'cities'.

A war is currently being waged in Britain. It is one that threatens to tear this sceptered isle in two, turning neighbour against neighbour and friends into enemies.

Here are some surprising statistics to start with: Average wages for people working in rural communities are £4,655 lower than the national average ...

To Blenheim Palace, Oxfordshire, for my first experience of the CLA Game Fair - Europe's largest countryside event. For those who have never been, the Fair is affectionately known as the "Glastonbury" for lovers of all things rural; an epithet that barely does justice to the scale or significance of the event.

Despite early promise and eye-catching statements like promising to be "the Greenest government ever" the Coalition has so far struggled to turnaround the anti-rural policies of previous administrations.