Bristol East Liberal Democrats

Labours Post Office Closure Shame

The Liberal Democrats are fighting to save the remaining Post Offices in Bristol

Liberal Democrats in Bristol are calling for the Council and local MPs to work to save local Bristol Post Offices.

A Liberal Democrat motion was successfully passed at Bristol's Full Council this evening. It is in response to the announcement by the Government that they are to press ahead with the closure of 2,500 Post Office branches across the country. Opposition to Labour's plans has been led by Liberal Democrats both in Parliament and in Bristol.

The new closures come on top of the 4,000 that have already closed under Labour since they came to power in 1997 and 3,500 that were axed by the previous Conservative government.

Cllr Tim Kent: In less than 10 years Labour have closed 7 out of every 10 Post Offices in Bristol.

Local Liberal Democrat Councillor Tim Kent said, "Since Labour came to power in 1997 we have seen the closure of 51 branches across Bristol. On top of that, Labour has systematically removed business from Post Offices".

"In Bristol thousand of residents use the post office card accounts: many of these people then spend their money in the local shops. When a post office closes it rips the heart out of our community.

"More can be done to increase the viability of the Post Office Network. The Liberal Democrats are calling on local MPs to lobby the government to allow those changes to be made. For example, Post Offices should be able to work with other delivery companies so that people can take parcels to a Post Office and send them via the likes of DHL, they should be able to sell bus tickets and adult education services, they should work with local authorities to deliver services such as reporting housing faults, dealing with passports and should be able to sell TV licences again.

"Bristol Liberal Democrats are seriously concerned that local residents will lose EIGHT or more branches in the coming year under Labour's closure plans. In less than 10 years Labour have closed 7 out of every 10 Post Offices in Bristol.

"We want to send the Labour Council and Gordon Brown a clear message: don't rip the heart out of our community, we want our Post Offices kept open."

The full council motion:

POST OFFICE CLOSURES

This Council believes that Bristol people value the role of local Post Offices in their community and do not wish to see the closure of any more Post Offices in the City.

This Council notes with concern that:

• Since 1999 under the current Labour Government 61 post offices have closed within the city.
• A further 2,500 Post Office closures are planned nationwide
• The urban network of Post Offices will sustain 50% of the planned closures which will result in further reduction in the number of Post Offices within the City
• One in five of the remaining Post Offices in the network are due to be closed, equating to 8 of the remaining 39 Post Offices in Bristol.
• During March 2008 the Post Office will map the location of the City's Post Offices against criteria set by the Government, which will identify a potential closure profile, and commencing in May 2008 a six-week 'public consultation' will be undertaken on the closure proposals.
• The Government have reduced the services available in Post Offices against the wishes of customers.
• There is very poor collection service at local sorting offices with most being open for only a few hours in the morning. This is simply not acceptable in today's busy world where a lot of people use Internet shopping and are at work.

This Council resolves to:

• Oppose to the Government's Post Office closure programme and respond to the consultation accordingly;
• Ask the Chief Executive to investigate ways that this Council can provide services for Bristol people via the network of local Post Offices;
• Lobby to increase the opening hours of local sorting offices to provide an evening collection for missed parcels and packages;
• Call on our five MPs to lobby the Government to save the Post Office and to report back to this Council on their actions
• To increase the viability of the Post Office network this Council calls on the government to:

o End the branch closure programme;

o Remove the Royal Mail restrictions on the Post Office to open up further business opportunities for the network;

o Stop removing Government business from Post Offices;

o Carry out a review of which additional Government functions could be carried out through Post Offices; and

o Invest in the Post Office network.

Proposed - Councillor Tim Kent

Seconded - Councillor Mark Wright