For a long time areas like Norfolk have been subsidising urban areas through the biased formulae use by Whitehall to allocate spending. This formulae places huge emphasis on certain criteria like ethnicity, single parent families, accommodation in high rise flats which are very common in urban communities but disguise poverty and deprivation which can be as serve.

Rural poverty tends to me invisible, hidden behind hedges and pretty views. Many of my constituents in social housing, or young or old people without homes and those with mental health and care issues, are often suffering in silence.

This is unfair and a serious misuse of scare government resources. It is time it stopped. That is why I am supporting the Rural Fair Share Campaign, which was established to encourage the Government to address the ongoing disparity in funding between rural and urban areas.

To help add weight to the campaign, I have launched a further petition below. If you feel the scales are tipped unfairly away from rural communities, please sign the petition.