Sunday, December 17, 2006

Battle against Post Office closures continues

Liberal Democrats in Gateshead have stepped up their campaign to save Post Offices from closure following the announcement by the Government of further massive cuts to the network.

Party campaigners launched their petition earlier this year calling on the Government to keep branches open.

The Government announced on Thursday 14th December that 2500 branches are to be closed. These are in addition to the 4000 that have already been axed since Labour came to power in 1997 and the 3000 that were closed by the previous Conservative government.

Liberal Democrat Councillor, Jonathan Wallace, who is co-ordinating the petition, said, “Though the Government has backed down on its plans to axe the Card Account, nevertheless, their attitude towards Post Offices is shocking. It appears they are washing their hands of the network.

“We have already seen the closure of six branches in Gateshead since 1999. Liberal Democrats are seriously concerned that local residents will lose more branches in coming years under Labour’s closure plans.

“We have already collected 4000 signatures on our petition calling for Post Offices to be saved from closure. Following the government’s announcement, we have stepped up our campaign and we will be looking to collect thousands more signatures over the coming weeks.”

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