Rural depopulation and urban agglomeration are two sides of the same coin. Tackle one and one solves the other. We should give workers real options to move out of urban centres. All of a sudden they will be able to afford to buy a house, their children will be able to go to smaller schools and people will get to spend more time at home and a lot less time stuck in traffic. More people in rural areas means the rural community is revitalised. It is that simple. Schools which were on the verge of closure will stay open, the local shop will get a new lease of life and the local bus service will start up again to ferry workers, shoppers and schoolchildren around. On the other hand, overcrowding in urban schools will be alleviated, the drive to work will take 20 minutes instead of two hours and the pressure on housing supply will reduce. It is all so heartbreakingly obvious.