Lib Dems Call to Save Romsey Post Office

12.00.00am GMT Wed 20th Dec 2006

Commenting on figures released by the Liberal Democrats which show that six post offices have closed in Romsey since 1999, Liberal Democrat MP Sandra Gidley said: "The past closures in Romsey are symptomatic of the Government's failure to support the post office network with business which resulted in the announcement last week [14th December 2006] to close 2,500 post offices around the UK .

"People in Romsey are bound to feel betrayed by the Government's policy of effectively endangering the livelihood of post office franchisees and local businesses that depend on their post office.

"Unless Ministers free post offices from Royal Mail's restrictive contracts, even more closures can be expected. They have let Royal Mail control offices and prevented them from processing vehicle excise duty and passport authentication work. That coupled with the BBC's retraction of the TV license scheme has eroded profitability of each post office.

"The Government wants the 2,500 Post Office closures to happen by 2009. That's on top of the 4,000 they have already closed since Labour came to power in 1997.

" There have been six closures in Romsey in the last seven years. If nothing is done to save the situation, more post offices are going to close in Romsey in 2007 and 2008, at a faster pace than we've seen in the past, judging from the national prediction.

"Our postal service have a proud 300 year history which this Government has decimated in less than a decade."

"That is why the Liberal Democrats have launched a campaign for action to protect the Post Office network.

"Lib Dems are calling on the Government to stop the unnecessary Post Office closure programme, and instead free the business from restrictive regulation, invest in the future of the network and stop removing government business to safeguard our post offices."

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