A quote from the labour party’s 2001 manifesto….
‘Labour is pledged to a rural services standard to set out specifically what rural people can expect from 21 service providers - with annual auditing and commitments to service improvements … the Post Office is now obliged to prevent the closure of rural postoffices except in unavoidable circumstances, with £270 million to help achieve this and recruit sub-postmasters.’
So far from recruiting sub-postmasters they are sacking them!!
For anyone who didn’t hear him on the radio last week, another name for your letters list: Alan McFadden, Minister for the Post Office.
I’ve had a very interesting reply from the PM and will be replying to him and writing to McFadden, asking them to get PO Ltd to extend the six week “consultation” period, even if he doesn’t do anything else!
Just E mailed this off to Clifton-Brown
I recently wrote to you about the proposed outreach (ie closure) of Longborough P.O. Your reply was both insufficient and impersonal. First of all you managed to address the reply to my house name, rather than to me. Secondly, you stated you had too many replies to reply individually - I’;m sorry, but that’s what I pay you for - to represent my views. I suspect if you had a marginal seat, you would be much more proactive in your approach. But sitting there, nice and comfortably, yopu don’t have to work that hard for ytour constituents. By the time you’ve ‘collated all the replies and points made’, the consultaion (what a mockery that is), will be over and the PO closed, but your life will go on as normal, so that’s alright then. You make me very angry. If you could reply personally this time, I would be most grateful.
Quote from Daily Telegraph Feb 26th
The public consultation over the closure of 2,500 Post Offices is a’sham’, Kate Hoey, the Labour MP said yesterday.
’What are we consulting about? The Government has decided the target of closing2,500 and thats that’ said the chairman of the Commons All Party Group on Sub-Post Offices’
D Tel says, there is growing unease that consumers are feeling cheatedby he consultation about closure…’
Postwatch sayscustomers felt ‘very let down’.
See also editorial
‘This ‘rationalisation’ is heartless and badly judged.
Please deluge Kate Hoey MP with letters and emails (see her website for addresses)
AND ask her
Why is there no National Website to co-ordinate the feelings of thousands of people so that thre is a concerted voice?
We’ve had replies from Luff, Postwatch, Clifton-Brown &Cameron. Nothing new to report except the C.Brown website which is www.cliftonbrown.co.uk. Apparently that will let us know of any protest marches etc. We will write again to CB
Can almost guarantee that everyone will receive the same responses - mine are identical to Alan’s. I shall respond and suggest everyone else does, we are just being fobbed off - make them work a bit harder, a lot harder! Ask for answers and keep plugging away until we get answers.
I have now had 3 replies to letters I sent:
- Post Watch have said they’ll look into it and fight our corner if the closing criteria aren’t met (the 3 mile zone, the accessibility to other POs, local transport and so on), so that looks quite positive.
- Clifton-Brown said he couldn’t reply to me as he’d had too many letters to do so (!?!). He also managed to address me by my house name to emphasise the impersonality of the reply.
- Peter Luff declared that for evetry PO saved, another one would have to close to meet the target. That’s not the point!!! What we’re fighting (and so should he be) is the whole concept of closures on a national level. The principle is wrong - not just Longborough PO. Grrrrr!!!!
If you don’t care about the PO note that the value of your property will go down if we no longer have a shop.
FIGHT
Remember we saved the school with a deluge of letters that left the powers that be in no doubt as to it’s importance to our community. The same applies, in spades, to our Post Office. Write write write…… please!
Note that the number of people in the village who are reaching their 80’s and 90’s is increasing and while at present over 5% of the population can’t drive that proportion will increase with time!
The ‘People’s Post Office’ should be for the whole community including those in rural areas. We have lost our village bobby with the result that petty crime and vandalism does occur in even the nicest p;aces, our village parson, a force for good is known no more, our Docter has decamped, the rural bus service is a farce, and the only bastion of community where we are known by face and not by number is our Post Office and village shop. As with the school there is a predisposition against closure if it is the only retail outlet in the village and yet what do they propose doing these people of the Post Office, why close it of course.
WE MUST NOT LET THEM GET AWAY WITH IT - PROTEST NOW
At the recent open meeting I was prompted to explain the basis of our village shop association. I will place a very brief resume on record for the benefit of newcomers to the village
The association dates back to 1998 when our shop was in imminent danger of closing and was saved by a combination of villagers’ efforts and the generosity of Mrs Peake who purcased the premises and leased them back at a peppercorn rent. Our first leaseholder Martin Gunson remains in post and we are hopeful that the lease will be renewed in September 2008.
We expect the next few months to be challenging, whilst we fight to save our Post Office and further open village meetings will be convened.
In the interim PLEASE write letters to your MP (leaflet in PO) and sign the petition which is also on the shop counter.
