Government Promise More Post Office Closures

In Kingston, we’ve seen seven offices close in recent years. Despite vigorous campaigns to stop them. And we’ve seen longer queues and pensioners and the disabled seriously disadvantaged.

Across the country over 4,000 offices have gone since 1997, on top of over 3,000 under the Conservatives. Now Blair promises 2,500 more – meaning a few more local post offices may go.

Labour ministers say it’s our fault, for not using post offices. That it’s technology.

Rubbish. The fact is Whitehall has deliberately taken government business away.

First, they abolished pension books and bullied millions of pensioners to switch to bank payments rather than the Post Office Card Account – and I mean “bullied”, with a campaign of telephone calls and letters cajoling people.

Then Ministers let TV licences, car tax discs, passports and benefits go. The average subpostmaster used to get 60% of their income from government business. Now it’s 10%. Post offices losses are the fault of Ministers, not the public.

There is an alternative to closures. Help post offices grow their business.

Remove restrictions so they can deal with private mail firms. Let them benefit from the growing internet parcels business, as local “pick up” points. Strike deals with eBay. Seed fund partnerships with councils and businesses like pharmacies.

It’s a tragedy for post offices and their communities that we have Ministers with little imagination.