Hilary Benn launches the rural manifesto

This afternoon I was in the Norfolk Broads launching Labour's Rural manifesto between the rain showers and the blue sky. I saw how the traditional industry of reed cutting has been helped here thanks to Labour's investment in rural businesses. Ten years ago these small businesses were on their knees. And because the reeds were not being cut, the Broads were getting clogged, unique plants and animals were under threat and this vital raw material needed for thatching roofs was in short supply. But that's now changed and the businesses are thriving. Richard, the reed cutter, expertly guided Tony Wright (our candidate in Great Yarmouth) and I down the channel and showed us how its done. What a job to have!

Rural communities in Britain have benefitted thanks to Labour. There are now one million businesses, employing 5.5 million people, but they need the right infrastructure to keep them going. High speed broadband will be the arteries of the 21 century rural economy like the roads were in the 20 century and the canals and railways were before them. That's why we are committed to provide high speed broadband across the whole of the country, although the Tories voted against funding for this just a couple of months ago.

But sometimes villages end up with no local shop or pub. So we're going to give extra support to help local pubs including helping local people to own and run them. We will change planning policy so that it's more difficult for a village to be left without a local shop or small business, while we're going to make it easier for local communities to set up small co-ops and mutuals to fill this gap. And we will make it easier for local councillors to build affordable homes in villages. The local media were very interested in this.

Our countryside is truly spectacular; it's some of the best in the world. I was delighted to sign the order creating the South Downs National Park last year - a decision which the Tories called "the wrong decision". So in our rural manifesto we have said that we will bring forward new plans to create green corridors and wildlife networks, so protecting places that are special.

Agricultural is also critical to the future of the countryside. Food production is Britain's biggest manufacturing industry, employing 3.6m people. So we're going to introduce a supermarket ombudsman which will help give farmers and food producers a fair deal while making sure consumers can get the high quality British food they want at an affordable price. I talked Tony about his local farmers, and we both agreed that there will be a lot of demand for the great food they produce in the years ahead. I started the day discussing the hunting ban on the Today Programme with Nick Herbert who struggled to explain why they want to bring back hunting with hounds, and ended it with Chris Mole proudly showing me the new flood defences that Labour has funded in Ipswich. Who says politics doesn't make a difference.