MP dismayed after fight to save PO is met with silence

[TrueBlueTerrier]

MP dismayed after fight to save post office is met with silence

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THE BATTLE to save Willenhall crown post office was met with silence this week then the government overseeing the cuts failed to respond to an invitation to visit the under-threat lifeline.

David Winnick, the MP for Walsall North, had written to Jo Swinson MP, the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for employment relations, consumer and postal affairs, personally inviting her to visit the branch in John Street to see for herself how vital the amenity was to the local community.

But Mr Winnick said this week he found her response "most disappointing".

"She does not respond at all to the point made in my letter to her, namely, if she herself will come to the town and see why the existing post office should be retained," Mr Winnick said.

"If Ms Swinson did that, she would recognise how strong is the opposition to closure, and the numbers using the post office.

"All that the Liberal Democrat minister has done is simply justify what is being proposed, which, as I pointed out to her, is completely unacceptable to residents and businesses in Willenhall."

In her letter to Mr Winnick, seen by the Advertiser this week, Ms Swinson outlines that decisions regarding the future of individual crown post offices are "commercial and operational matters for Post Office management" and that Government "plays no role".

"The current losses of the Crown network contribute a third of the losses incurred by the network as a whole and this is not sustainable," she said.

In the case of Willenhall crown post office, which could be closed as part of plans to axe 20 per cent of branches across the country, she also highlights hat it "costs £1.44 to generate every £1 of income".

Post Office management confirmed plans to cull a fifth of its Crown services and replace them with counters in retail stores back in March – a decision which has sparked anger among regular users of the Willenhall branch.

The fight to safeguard Willenhall crown post office continues tomorrow (Friday) with a meeting at the Chart Centre at 3pm where the Labour Party and the union involved will be putting the case against its closure.

Mr Winnick, together with local councillors Carl Creaney and Sean and Diane Coughlan, will be attending.

[RedBagMan]

The phrase "Liberal Democrat" says it all ...

NOT Liberal
NOT Democratic
TWO-FACED (will "Cleggish" make it to the next Oxford Dictionary ?)

For Liberal Democrat read Chocolate Teapot ...