The Tories are losing the support of country folk who were once their staunchest supporters.
A poll for the Country Land and Business Association shows voters in rural areas are deserting Boris Johnson in droves.
The Survation survey of Cornwall, Cumbria, North Yorkshire, Norfolk and Gwynedd, Wales found that 36% of voters in the countryside now intend to vote Labour at the next general election, two points behind the Tory vote share.
That is a 7.5% swing to Keir Starmer ’s party. At the 2019 General Election 46% backed the Tories and only 29% Labour.
Association president Mark Tufnell blames the planning regime for many of the Tory woes.
He said: “Sensible small-scale housing developments are often rejected out-of-hand and applications to convert disused farm buildings into office or workshop space can take years.
“As a result, fewer jobs get created and housing becomes less affordable, so young people just move away.”
Eight in ten of those polled agreed that the lack of affordable housing was driving young people out of the countryside.
York Outer Tory MP Julian Sturdy said rural issues were neglected in Housing Secretary Michael Gove ’s levelling up plans.
He added: “People rightly want a good job and an affordable home. That needs to be addressed urgently.”
