The Government said today the proposed closure of 1,500 post offices will go ahead despite seeing its majority reduced to 20 in the Commons last night on a Tory demand for the programme to be suspended.
But Post Office minister Pat McFadden, the Wolverhampton South East MP, stressed that consultation would continue over precisely where the axe would fall.
West Midlands MPs voted entirely along party lines, with Tory and Liberal Democrat members voting for suspension of the closures.
Labour MPs were backing the Government’s position.
Tory MP Mark Pritchard said that seven cabinet ministers were campaigning against the closure of post offices in their own constituencies.
The Wrekin MP called for an undertaking from Business Secretary John Hutton they would not be given “special access arrangements” to him or to officials in his department, and that all MPs would be given equal access.
Mr Hutton said it would be “an outrage” if cabinet ministers could not make representations on behalf of constituents, but he said it would be “quite wrong” for them to have special access, and none had been sought.
Mr McFadden said MPs had been asked to take part in the consultation process about which post offices should close.
He said: “What cabinet ministers are saying is not that there should not be any post office closures in their constituencies. They are saying they have been asked to take part in the consultation and they are quite properly doing that.”
Wolverhampton South West MP Rob Marris said the Conservatives had simply called for a moratorium “because they do not have a policy”.
Nineteen Labour rebels voted with the Conservatives last night, cutting the Government’s majority by two thirds.
Rebel MP John McDonnell said: “The Government has always underestimated the strength of anger on the Labour backbenches against the privatisation and cuts in this essential public service.”
8 Comments
it’s already happened in tipton,horseley heath,five ways,park la east,locarno rd,and thats the only ones i can think of in the tipton area there maybe more,but if the post offices are empty most the week why keep them open,union st, princess end,dudley port thats plenty enough for a 3 mile radius,why keep paying millions out when the money could be spent on better things like training for real jobs.
This Gov’t are just something else - words fail me and if I carry on I might just swear !!!
The MP’s who failed to save any more PO’s are spineless wonders also. MP’s are not for the people whatsoever - now hail the death of democracy in Britain !!!
So two out of three of Wolverhampton’s MPs have declared in favour of closing down Post Offices (and by implication other services).
Very courageous. The election is not that far away.
Mr. Marris would do well to remember that his seat has very rarely been anything other than a Conservative seat. McFadden may think his seat is safe. On the figures the opinion polls are not suggesting it could well be vulnerable.
I hope the Express and Star does its job properly come the next election and reminds voters of the record of these two.
“Now suggesting” not “not suggesting”
Yet Labour are propping up a Northern Bank - odd isn’t it?
Why have they done this.After spending how many millions to get the new benefit payments all to banking stopping giro thefts…where are people meant to get their money when there paid into yes youve guessed it..THE POST OFFICE.
I dont have to use benefits but ido use the Post Office daily for letters,business,mailing boxes and parcels as i work from home.
I wonder if they will give my a free fuel card to travel to the post office miles away when they close our local one down.
As a pensioner living in the Cannock Chase area,Hednesford area having lost the most local Post Offices than in any area in Cannock Chase area in last round of P.O closures,I only hope our local MP will have the guts and stand up to save our last two remianing Hednesford Town main Post Office owning to this is one of the largest community area of local businesses, and pensioners, While in the Cannock town area having retain the most of all P.Os in that area at this moment in time, It is disgusting, I only hope at the people will rememeber wot they done at Election time
This is terrible, yet more cuts to the PO, what we have left are not proper POs, but only a counter in a conveniencve store. Bit rich of the Tories to complain, when they happily closed POs when they were in power!