ABSTRACT
This chapter introduces the main conceptualisations, policies and practices of rural development in the UK that resonate with a 'localism' agenda, including not only those initiated by the state but also those of local people working collectively to address local needs and problems. It outlines how rural localism is being damaged by government austerity measures, and how even fully resourced localism is not sufficient to address all rural problems in the UK: some can only be addressed by larger-scale structural adjustments at national or supranational scales. The classic formulation of rural development, prevalent in post-war Europe, was an exogenous model, based on industrialisation, economies of scale and concentration. A further vital role for the state, of course, is to support and enable local rural development in places that have less capacity to act: in other words, to help build the capacity of those places that have not historically taken the initiative, and to ensure against inequality between places.
