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Thursday, 24 April 2008 |
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Local Conservatives condemn MP’s Support for Closures
Tamworth’s Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman, Christopher Pincher, has launched his party’s local campaign to save Tamworth’s threatened Post Offices. At the same time, Conservative Councillors have censured Labour MP Brian Jenkins for voting to axe more outlets.
A website has been launched to get signatures against the closures - www.savepostoffice.co.uk
Last week, in a close vote, the government defeated a Conservative motion to stop Post Office closures by just twenty votes. A number of Labour MPs broke ranks to support the Tory proposals. But Tamworth MP Brian Jenkins backed government policy which will see another 800 Post Offices across the country close their doors.
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Launching the campaign Mr. Pincher said:
“Post Offices are a lifeline to the community. They serve young and old, from the senior citizen collecting their pension to the “ebay generation” – small business people who use Post Offices to weigh and measure their parcels for delivery.”
“The government simply is not listening to local people. That is why we have launched this campaign to persuade Gordon Brown to stop these cuts. We want Tamworth’s Post Offices to stay open for business, serving the community.”
And in a withering assault on Mr. Jenkins’ decision to back the government rather than his constituents, Belgrave councillor Robert Pritchard said:
“Brian Jenkins is guilty of double standards of gob-smacking proportions. Just last week in the Herald he was pictured at Amington Post Office’s second birthday party. This week he has ignored local people and voted to close down more local offices. One day he smiles with a birthday cake. Next day he wields the knife. His craven conduct is a disgrace!”
“We spend over £180,000 on this man and yet this is the way he treats the town. He has let us down again.”
Amington’s Local councillor Evelyn Rowe spent last Pension Day collecting signatures from worried pensioners against Post Office closures. Councillor Rowe said:
“I collected over fifty signatures in just one hour. My Amington neighbours were queuing up to say how opposed they are to more cuts. Post Offices like ours are at the heart of our community and the government should listen.”
Local Conservatives pledge to continue to campaign against closure. The list of Post Offices in Staffordshire threatened with closure is due to be published on 1st April. Conservatives fear a number of local offices may face the axe.
They also complain that sub-Post Masters are being gagged from speaking out. Documents leaked last year show the Royal Mail has told sub-Post Masters that they risk losing compensation if they support anti-closure campaigns.
“We will keep up the pressure to stop local cuts”, said Mr. Pincher
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