Post office rethink led by DC
I am extremely glad that Conservatives in Westminster are hoping to put controversial plans to close 2,500 post offices to a vote in Parliament.
Westminster Conservatives will use an opposition debate in the Commons to highlight protests against the closures which have led to legal challenges to keep them open.
I recently met with officials of the Post Office to discuss closures and service variations planned for the post office network in Powys and let us not beat around the bush – Post Office Ltd are merely pawns of the Labour Government (who are the only shareholders)
In pressing ahead with this devastating closure programme UK Government Ministers have ignored the important social dimension post offices bring to community life.
Many post offices are facing closure in my own area of Mid and West Wales. This is completely unacceptable – Post Office closures have a huge impact when taken in a rural context and I will be fighting these closure plans.
While mobile services are not ideal at least there will be something in place, and having visited a mobile Post Office I can confirm that the range of services they provide is considerable. We need to all keep a watching brief on these mobile services though – I do not want to see them as a first step to permanent closure (which many of my constituents expect)
All of these closures and service variations affect our communities. They will hit pensioners, the disabled and mothers with young families the hardest and I will fight for the retention of these valuable services. I have already spoken to some of the Post Office Managers affected.
We need to be doing much more from Westminster, Welsh Assembly Government and local government level to encourage services and initiatives which could do more to utilise the facilities of post offices.
