Decision to close local Post Offices condemned

MP backs new Commons Bill "to tackle a cause of these closures" and seeks new assurances about New Malden's main post office

3.11.04

Responding to the Post Office's decision to go ahead with closures of sub-post offices in Berrylands Road, Chiltern Drive and Malden Manor, local MP, Edward Davey condemned the decision as "a major blow to these communities". Edward Davey MP has led the campaign against the closures and although Postwatch acknowledged his concerns in their comments, Post Office have pushed ahead regardless. Edward Davey commented:

"Despite a huge petition, site visits and four meetings, the Post Office failed to grasp the social importance of these local post offices. These closures will hit a lot of local people hard. This is an extremely disappointing decision. One of these post offices is right opposite my own constituency office, so I know at first hand how important these local services are."

Edward Davey also blamed the Government for the policies that have led to these closures, especially the abolition of the pension books. This week in Parliament, he was a sponsor of a new Bill to change Government policy on collecting pensions and benefits - the Post Offices (Pensions and Benefits) Bill - which aims to tackle the many problems caused by the Government forcing people to switch away from post offices to banks.

He said:

"This Bill won't stop these latest closures, but if the Government took notice of our ideas, our reforms would help all remaining post offices, and make it much easier for people confused by the new system. It builds on ideas from the National Federation of Sub-Postmasters, and would make it easier to open and use a Post Office card account. We need to keep people using local post offices, and these ideas would help a great deal in that."

Edward Davey has also contacted senior post office managers over reports that directly-managed post offices, like New Malden's, may close under a new plan.

"It would be frankly outrageous, after all the assurances we've received so far, for the Post Office now to try to shut New Malden.

"I've demanded an early guarantee that the New Malden office will stay open, and stay directly managed. With 3 closures in the Malden Neighbourhood in recent years, this would be the last straw.

"They've already shut too many post offices locally. This must stop now."