MP's anger as 1 in 5 rural branches go

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WHITBY'S MP has spoken out after the full extent of post office closures in the countryside was revealed.
New figures reveal one in five branches in rural England has closed in the past eight years, including five in the Whitby area

Although more have closed in towns and cities, where one in three has shut, the impact has been more devastating in rural areas as villages have lost their lifeline service.

Whitby MP Robert Goodwill said: “They must have known the numbers of closures would be well in excess of the number they’ve paid to close. People in rural areas are now finding it increasingly difficult, particularly pensioners, to access the services they need from a post office.”

In 2007 post offices in Fylingthorpe, Helredale, Whitby West Cliff, Sandsend and Ruswarp were all axed.

The closures have been a hugely controversial issue.

The Tories want the network opened up to more business to allow postmasters to make their branch viable.

New Shadow Environment Secretary Nick Herbert said the statistics showed the “immensely damaging” impact of closures on rural life.

The figures were released to the Tories by Post Office Ltd, and come as the latest round of 2,500 closures to cut costs reaches its end.

Mr Herbert said: “Post offices often lie at the heart of rural communities and losses on this scale have been immensely damaging.

“Thousands more people are now more isolated without easy access to important services. The Government simply doesn't understand the value of this public service or how such changes harm rural areas.”

The Government insists its continuing subsidy worth hundreds of millions of pounds a year to keep a comprehensive post office network will prevent any further mass closures once the present round is complete.

But the Tories are angry that numerous branches have been allowed to shut on top of the 2,500 closures, because postmasters have either retired, sold up and been replaced, or died.

The Government has also faced a backbench rebellion, and several Ministers have been embarrassed by campaigning to save local branches while approving the national closure programme.

Ministers have defended the closures as necessary to stem losses as people increasingly use the Internet to access services instead of their local branch. However, post offices were given a boost recently as the network was awarded a crucial contract to continue operating.

This week the Royal Mail announced an increased profit of £255m in the nine months to Christmas, with all its businesses in profit for the first time in almost 20 years.

But Communication Workers’ Union deputy general secretary Dave Ward said: “Royal Mail is again giving us mixed messages on its financial health.

“These results must not come at the cost of cutbacks in services, terms and conditions for staff and post office closures.

“Future services and standards must at least be retained, if not expanded, to ensure consumer confidence.”