Post Office Closures will Cost the Government Dear
Just back from Parliament where the Government's majority was reduced to 20 votes on the issue of the closure of local post offices. 20 Labour MPs voted against the Government in favour of a motion seeking a review of the closure process. A number of MPs who have lead local campaigns against their local post office closing nevertheless still voted for the Government or went missing.
In my constituency I am faced with the closure of three post offices. I have already lost my main post office, which has been relocated into the back of W H Smiths, reducing both the range of the shop's services and the size and accessability of the post office.
The post office is seen by most of us as an essential element of our local community. Closure of our local post office takes another slice out of the quality of local community life, just as the Tories did when they closed our local cottage hospital. Next under threat is the local job centre.
In 2000 the New Labour Government introduced legislation in Parliament to liberalise Britain's postal services. This was even in advance of European Union's moves to open up postal services across Europe to the market and privatisation.
I attempted to amend the Government's legislation to prevent this liberalisation policy because it was obvious what would happen. Liberalisation would innevitably allow the multi-nationals like TNT and DHL to cream off the lucrative contracts and thus prevent the subsidy of the less profitable community postal services. We predicted then that this would lead to post office closures. The vast majority of Labour MPs refused to support the amendments.
Everything we predicted has come true and this valuable public service is being destroyed bit by bit. Is it any wonder that New Labour's poll ratings are at a 24 year low?
In my constituency I am faced with the closure of three post offices. I have already lost my main post office, which has been relocated into the back of W H Smiths, reducing both the range of the shop's services and the size and accessability of the post office.
The post office is seen by most of us as an essential element of our local community. Closure of our local post office takes another slice out of the quality of local community life, just as the Tories did when they closed our local cottage hospital. Next under threat is the local job centre.
In 2000 the New Labour Government introduced legislation in Parliament to liberalise Britain's postal services. This was even in advance of European Union's moves to open up postal services across Europe to the market and privatisation.
I attempted to amend the Government's legislation to prevent this liberalisation policy because it was obvious what would happen. Liberalisation would innevitably allow the multi-nationals like TNT and DHL to cream off the lucrative contracts and thus prevent the subsidy of the less profitable community postal services. We predicted then that this would lead to post office closures. The vast majority of Labour MPs refused to support the amendments.
Everything we predicted has come true and this valuable public service is being destroyed bit by bit. Is it any wonder that New Labour's poll ratings are at a 24 year low?
posted by John at 10:11 PM
11 Comments:
Maths isn't my strong point but this disgraceful measure could obviously have been easily defeated. The vast majority of Labour MPs seem to be like rabbits in headlights - and they will meet a similar fate if they don't start mobilising to get this Government to change course.
have to disagree with you on Post Offices John. Time and technology move on and we should not be subsidising a 1950s fantasy.
A lot of people do not seem to want to move on and progress.
If Kate Tory Hoey and her Countryside Alliance want to keep Post Offices why dont they fund them?
1950s fantasy?
Where I live in inner London, 50% of council tenants pay their rent at the post office. Where are they going to do it now? And how will that impact on the council's finances?
A heads up folks
For those who thought the Housing Minister , Caroline Flint was just kite flying, crazy, or that it would never happen, when she said council tenants should work or lose their homes, well, as i noted, she meant it!
in a exclusive snippet in the Mirror today, 16 pilots have been announced which will mean single mothers will have to look for work or lose benefits
welfare state RIP....
Mr McDonnell. Your commments about post office closures were put on medialens this morning and another person has added this:
'No matter what New Labour does, John McDonnell and the rest of the NL "left" will go on whingeing, but actually do nothing. And the reason is very clear to anyone who bothers to think about it?
Neither he nor any of his other apparently critical MPs friends actually believe there is an alternative to the war criminals who lead his party.
In truth they dare not consider any alternative, because it would mean they would have to forego the comforts of parliament and heckling from leather armchairs, get out of the political corpse that is NL party, and join with people who are willing to put their time and lives on the line to forge a political alternative.
of course he won't, and as NL it heads further to the right, towards an authoritarian state, creating a US style neo-liberal economy, McDonnell will still be stuck there muttering "I told you so".'
I would be interested to hear what you think about this comment and whether or not you think it's fair. For my part I am always sorry that there was no election for Blair's successor.
Mary, It's apparent that your poster knows nothing about John McDonnell or the history of his standing against Gordon Brown,
As to Mike who thinks we should keep up with the times - just wait until things change when you are in your seventies - perhaps there will be some technology that you don't have/don't understand - don't think it won't happen and don't be such an "I'm alright JacK".
Many in their 70/80's today were never taught maths at school, have never had a bank account and cannot approach any understanding how to use the internet.
"Many in their 70/80's today were never taught maths at school, have never had a bank account and cannot approach any understanding how to use the internet."
err so they should all stay ignorant should they? Utter nonsense.
My mother is in her 70s and had no idea about basics of using a PC.
Thanks to a few lessons she can now do things with bills etc online she never thought possible.
Why should we settle for wilful ignorance of some old people who want the world to stay the same at a cost to future generations.
Also,pensioners (thanks to Labour, not the Tories which many on here seem to be willing back to power) get free bus travel and travel tokens, so can get to a Post Office very easily.
Also, there is no reason that some services cant be afford at supermarkets etc.
If I get to my 70s I would be more than happy to learn new things and not selfishly hold things back because I cant face the fact that I am old.
Well done John for leading the rebellion on the Labour benches against this move. Two of the local Labour MPs justified their craven support for the closures programme on the grounds the opposition motion was put by the Tories. Feeble!
Time for another report from the "coalface" of living in the Tory shires...John and some Labour ministers should really come down to Marlow with a tv crew as the main PO is now a portacabin with two tills only, only one of which seems to be open! (the opening was delayed by several months after we lost the main PO as they couldn't get the electricity connected or soemthing - it didn't surprise me as it take Bucks County council six months to connect new street lights...!) - though the manager of the other PO my local sub PO says they have more room behind the counter for what they need to do than hers whihc is also only two tills giving us four counters in total for a town of 50,000 people or whatver it is. my Co-op internet bank is actually at the PO if you wnat to deposit/withdraw money etc so it's not just benefits and parcels that people need POs for ther are other things. I can use various LINK cash machines but not to put money in, it has to be the PO for that; you can alos pay bills there and get foreign currency, passport cheques/car tax at main POs adn so on - it's not just beefits and postage items.
the argument that they keep trotting out that the PO is losign half a million a day or whatever it is sounds like a misnomer or red herring i fyo actaully looked into it to me as if the POs were closed there would be far greater admin cost elsewhere and also a rich society like u sshould eb able to subsidise some things for the good of all - are tehy suggeting we go without let's say sewerage pipes and water piping to each house now?1 _it's the same argument when it comes down to it.
The other day I missed an NHS dental appt because one of the old adn non-accessible buses we have to put up with (while Arriva shareholders no doubt holiday in teh Maldives or somehwere on the millions of profits tehy make wouldn't stop for me as I had a large pushchair although there were opnly four peole on teh bus including teh driver. We do have an accessible local bus tath also goes to wycombe Mon, tues, Thurs and Fris and Maidenhead on Weds as well as around town and to teh mobile home park (just as well or they would be cut off) which was county council but now Carousel whihc is great butit dosen't run after 2.30 p.m.! Though it manages to fit on three shopping trolleys and a pushchair and has a friendly driver and atmosphere...I know it's prob against health and safety to have pushchairs in the corridor on the old Arriva/Carouisel buese on the main Wycombe to Reading routes round here bu twhat else am I supposed to do....By the way we are all still entitled to NHS dentists despite popular belief that they are had to get - I wanted to change to one neare as my old one was back in London and it's true that there are none in Marlow -for adults I mean as kids are still free so can go anywhere - so I've found one in High Wycombe. You look on the NHS direct website but failing that ring round with the phone book as the NHS direct website is not always comprehensive I find. Don't subscribe to teh moves they make to make us all go private or take out Denplan etc -it's still only £15.90 for a basic NHS check-up - prob should be free bu tshod be cheaper than apyin g£20 a month private - whihc my Mum apensioner had started doing. If you do need treatment yo may need more check-ups/x-rays etc but NHS price for fillings replaced and othe rtreatment is capped at £195 (plus check up scan make it £225) and you hopefully won't need this most years so it should be cheaper to stay with the NHS. The dentsit sthat do take NHS get funding if yo have treatment so tehy are in fact advertising for patients in Wycombe though my new practice msut be partly private as they wanted me to go to see thier hygenist private;y at £35 a go but I will try using mouthwash etc first! Iexplained I was on a low income and they stopped asking. You musn't miss appts tho or they can charge fair enough and if you miss twice you lose your NHS registration but I expect it's teh same privately. I'm just postig thsi info her as it shodl eb made public there should be a website explaining your way round all these public systemns bu twhat gets me is that it is so hard to do such basic things inthis county now... yo have to work out the systemn, spend ages doing whatver it is, negotiate othe rprobs such as huge stairs and no lift -not great with children and in fact while I was at the dentist adn ambulance was called for an old man who had had a bad turn so they will need to get a stari lift or something bu tI think htey can't afford to yet as it seems to be a new practice.
That's what life's like for me under a Tory council and effectively Tory governmnet and Bucks County council also neglect social services very badly. I notice that the manager they heldpo responsibe for teh sixty odd deaths from teh dirty wards at Stoke Mandeville had got another NHS management job in another area at £100,000 or similar gross salary but has had to resign it before starting as there was an outcry.
I could not beleive what Mike Simpson said. Then I noticed the time tag on his message; 5.13am, got it, he WAS dreaming. Come on John, their are lots of us out here that rely on Post Offices. Most people do not get a works pension believe it or not. Most people are like me, living "off the state" as it were. Many people were not fortune enough (nor daft enough in my case) to work for large companies who had pension funds. So, we have to trip down to the P.O. for our "Hand out" as some people seem to call it. To a lot of us, a lifeline.
Hi, Can I rectify a mistake? On the third line where I said "Come on John" It should of course said "Mike" Sorry about that John.
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