Save Our Post Offices!

Cllr. Richard Huzzey, Dr. Steve Goddard, Evan Harris MP and Cllr. Jean Fooks launch the Lib Dem petition in Summertown, where the latest Oxford post office closure has taken place

The Post Office network is crumbling.

Over the last two decades, post offices have been closing at a rate of over 300 a year. 15 have closed in Oxford since 1999.

Under the last Conservative Government, 3,500 local post offices closed, and under Labour another 4,000 have closed, hitting communities across the country.

*Sign our petition against Post Office closures HERE*.

And things are set to get even worse.

On 14 December 2006 Labour announced the start of a consultation period likely to result in 2,500 more Post Office closures.

And the Government has announced that it will not extend its contract beyond 2010 for pension and benefit payments using the Post Office Card Account, worth £1 billion of income for post offices between 2003 and 2010. A replacement will be put in place but the competitive tender process means that the Post Office could lose this work altogether.

The likelihood is that, while the Government ducks the long term decisions necessary to secure the future of Post Offices, 12,000 post office branches (urban and rural) will close.

Why This Matters

Post offices are the lifeblood of communities in both rural and urban areas, particularly when they are combined with other services, such as the local shop. When the local post office closes other services often follow suit, which can be devastating for the community.

It is vital that the true social value of this network is included as well as its economic value when looking at the long-term future of this valuable network.