A nationwide week of action against the Government’s plans to axe 2,500 post offices across the country was launched today with North Shropshire MP Owen Paterson leading an all-party offensive to save the network.
With up to 400 closures anticipated in the Midlands alone, campaigners said the show of support was vital to give the Post Office a chance of survival.
Thousands of people are expected to attend a rally in Westminster at lunchtime tomorrow, with similar protests taking place up and down the country over the next few days.
But time is running out, with the Government’s deadline for consultation on March 8 looming large.
Mr Paterson, pictured below, secretary of the all-party group on sub-post offices, said it was time for action.
“We simply cannot sit back and let the Government destroy a vital service to our communities,” he explained.
“What came out of the statement from Alistair Darling before Christmas was quite clear: this government sees the whole Post Office issue as a complete pain.
“They view it as a backwards-looking dinosaur and portray the network as totally inefficient.
“Yet the current problem is very much of the Government’s making. They have removed £400 million of benefits income without thinking how that turnover would be replaced.
“Ministers could do worse than visit Maesbury and see a brand new post office where the pure post office activity only occupies 0.46 per cent of the space but still provides 25 per cent of the turnover.
“The Government sees the network as an out of date, expensive problem. Maesbury shows it could be a great opportunity.”
Age Concern, Countryside Alliance, National Pensions’ Convention, Women’s Institute, Citizens’ Advice Bureaux and the RNIB have joined forces with Mr Paterson and signalled their intent to battle the Government’s proposals.
A joint statement from the organisations joining the rally said: “We are committed to securing the future of a sustainable Post Office network with a full range of services allowing vulnerable groups to continue to access vital services in their communities.
“We will press the Government to deliver on its recognition of the social and economic importance of post offices in both urban and rural areas and represent the voices of those who work in and those who use the Post Office network.”
But the Treasury sees it differently, with figures showing the network is haemhorraging £4 million a week.
Mr Darling, the Trade and Industry Secretary, said the Post Office had an important social and economic role but there was widespread recognition that the current size of the network of 14,000 post offices was “unsustainable”.
By Social Affairs Editor Nathan Rous
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