Local post offices face closure
Tuesday, July 15th, 2008Today it was announced that six local post offices face closure. They are:
- West Bay, Bridport
- Kittwhistle, Beaminster
- Fordington, Dorchester
- Monmouth Road, Dorchester
- Owermoigne, Dorchester
- Buckland Newton, Dorchester
Residents of Buckland Newton and the surrounding area will at least be offered some kind of more limited ‘Outreach Service’ in place of the existing post office branch. Under this plan, users of the other five will just have to make their own arrangements.
Why is this happening?
The post office network has been falling apart as the result of decades of underfunding and government attacks. The Conservatives (now loudly proclaiming their undying support for post offices) closed no fewer than 3,500 local branches. Under the Labour government, 4,000 more have closed and another 2,500 are now threatened.
What the Liberal Democrats are doing about it
Liberal Democrats have been campaigning hard nationally and locally against the post office closure programme. We know that local post offices, especially in rural areas, provide much more than stamps and stationery; they are often the lifeblood of a community. Losing your local post office can mean losing your nearest shop, access to cash and other banking services and the place where you could draw your pension or other benefits. For people living alone in small communities, the local post office is where they can be sure of meeting people.
We are the only party to have put together a fully-costed, credible plan to safeguard the post office network.
The Liberal Democrat plan
Under the Liberal Democrats, Post Office Ltd will remain in the public sector, because it is a public service, and it will be strengthened. The main points of our plan are:
- Raise £2bn to invest in post office branches through making Royal Mail a successful company with a majority of employee shareholders (following the example of John Lewis).
- Open (or reopen) new post office branches where there is a need.
- Retain the post office card account for benefit payments.
- Free Post Office Ltd from Royal Mail so it can develop new business.
- Put a legal requirement on government to maintain the post office network.
Our detailed proposals can be seen here.
What you can do
- Sign our on-line petition to save your local post office.
- Download our printed petition to save your local post office and collect as many signatures as you can.
- Put a poster up in your window.
- Press the Conservatives to back the Liberal Democrat councillors’ demand for the County Council to use the powers they have to support local post offices.
PLEASE, HELP THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATS SAVE OUR POST OFFICES!
