Being born and raised in the countryside, it could be said that I wasn’t born into Labour, I chose it.

When it comes to rural matters, Labour finds itself in a vicious circle. People in the countryside don’t vote Labour because they don’t think Labour cares about them. But Labour doesn’t behave like it cares about rural people because they don’t vote for us – and with tight resources, developing sound rural policy is categorised as a non-priority.

The vicious circle shows no signs of being broken. Our MPs almost exclusively represent urban and industrial constituencies, and the young movers and shakers rising the ranks of the party know that rural policy just isn’t sexy enough to get them noticed. So we end up not talking about it at all.

But little over 10 per cent of the UK is urbanised, and over six million people live in isolated rural communities – with many millions more living in small towns such as Thirsk, where I grew up.

So it’s time we did more.

Farming is the lifeblood of the rural economy and offers huge amounts to the UK as a whole. Every year farming contributes £9bn to GDP while 3.5 million people work in farming and associated sectors – indeed, the food sector as a whole is our fourth-largest export to international markets. Given the global population is rising fast, food security will be a major policy area in the decades ahead and will continue to provide employment and opportunities for young people. But can you name one farming policy Labour has promoted in all your time in the party?

The coalition government is failing to provide the rural broadband necessary to support small businesses that employ so many people in the countryside. Growth is being held back as a result of government inaction, but when it finally comes, rural SMEs will at last get the level playing field they need to grow and create jobs. So when broadband speeds catch up and local economies flourish, small communities will increasingly become a more attractive place for people to live. We need to be ready and Labour, with Progress’ help, needs to develop a robust housing policy for the countryside that protects the environment but builds strong communities too, and end the rising culture of ghost-villages inhabited by second-homers who price local people out of the market.

This isn’t a whinge. It’s a call to action. It’s time for Labour to care about the countryside, not just for the sake of political expediency (the political map of England especially is frighteningly blue) but because it is right to care. Millions of decent people live in the countryside and they need to have people like us on their side. I’m standing for the Progress strategy board for a range of reasons, but I want to revolutionise the way we think of rural Britain. Inch by inch, council seat by council seat, and eventually, parliamentary seat by parliamentary seat, I want to help take Labour back to the countryside.

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Jonathan Roberts is a candidate in the members’ section in the Progress strategy board elections 2012. You can find out more about all the  candidates at the dedicated Progress strategy board election microsite