Lib Dem Candidate Condemns Post Office Closures

12.28.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Fri 6th Jun 2008

Cllr Sally Morgan, LibDem Parliamentary Spokesperson for Central Devon has

condemned the closures of dozens of Post Offices across the County.

Cllr Morgan has written to Council Leaders requesting that their Local Authority challenges the Post Office as some of the data used to determine the closures came from the 2001 census, which is already out of date.

Sally recently spent a morning behind the counter of Widecombe in the Moor Post Office, one of those set to close and be replaced with an outreach service.

"Widecombe is a fairly typical example of a Village Shop and Post Office combination- it would be impossible for one of the businesses to carry on

without the other. The owners were told they would be closed and offered the opportunity to run a 'Partnership' Service from their shop. Any commission and income generated from the Post Office under this scheme would return to the 'Core' Post office and the 'Partner' would be offered a nominal sum in return for the extra footfall for the other side of the business. In this case the owners were

offered just £10 per week! They would be expected to work the same hours for half the income - impossible. They are left with no option but to close. I find this appalling.

I am also concerned that this might be the thin end of the wedge and would

not be at all surprised if we were to face another round of closures in the future.

The government should stop playing games with people and communities. It needs to be clear about the future of the Post Office. Is it a public service? In which case we need to accept and fund it as such, or is it a business? Again, if that is the case it needs to radically change the way it does business and stop taking services away from Post Office Counters.

There needs to be more support and encouragement for social enterprise within

communities so that it is the local people that run and are accountable for such local services and not central government. People feel frustrated and powerless and that needs to change."

Sally recently attended a conference in London to discuss Post Office closures with other Local Authority members from around the country. Up to 2500 Post Offices may be closed on top of those 3500 closed by the Tories when they were last in government.

"The conference was rather frustrating and disappointing" said Sally. "There were a great number of Conservative councillors bemoaning the fate of their Post Offices without referring to their own record on Post Office closures while they were in office. Neither do they have a properly costed policy worked out on how to save the threatened branches."

The Liberal Democrats are the only party to have come up with a costed policy to keep branches open.

Sally can be contacted on 07811 825707

Sally Morgan with fellow Lib Dem Campaigners in London

Attached photo shows Cllr Sally Morgan with fellow campaigners in London