Efforts continue to save as many local branches as possible
Shepherd’s Bush MP Andy Slaughter has brushed off accusations of hypocrisy, after being criticised for voting in Parliament against a Conservative motion to suspend Post Office closures.
“The stuff about the vote is all just hot air,” he told ShepherdsBushW12.com. “The Tory motion would have led to the closure of many more post offices and it is a wholly dishonest position,” he said.
Slaughter has been accused of doing a U-turn after leading a local campaign to save neighbourhood post offices while voting in Parliament against the motion to suspend closures and allow further consultation.
“It is surely one of the swiftest volte-faces ever," Greg Hands, Conservative MP for Hammersmith and Fulham, said last week.
But Slaughter insisted there was no inconsistency in his actions: “The local campaign has always been on a basis of saving a viable network,” he said. “I have never said that no post office is going to close”. “I’m very annoyed about this because it is playing politics with people’s livelihoods,” he added.
The three W12 post offices slated for closure are at 88 Goldhawk Road, 68 Askew Road and Starch Green, 7 Kings Parade. In neighbouring W14, the Shepherd’s Bush Road post office is also on the list.
One member of staff at the Starch Green branch, who declined to be named, appeared unmoved by the MP’s actions, saying: “Nothing surprises me with politicians”.
At a public meeting in Hammersmith Town Hall last week, residents turned out for the second time this month to protest against the proposed closures. Cllr Paul Bristow, Cabinet Member for Residents’ Services, said the council was targeting its efforts to save as many branches as possible: “We are looking at ways to save the three post offices we think we have most chance of saving,” he said.
In W12, it is hoped the Starch Green branch will either remain open or be relocated into the Askew Road Library.
Elderly and visually impaired residents say that if they lose their local post office, they will find it extremely difficult to use public transport to get to alternative branches in Chiswick or at Shepherd’s Bush Green, or to carry heavy parcels there.
The Post Office, which is losing £4 million a week, says closures are necessary because fewer people are using its services.
Residents have been urged to take part in the public consultation to determine precisely which branches will close. But PO representative Melanie Corfield has warned that the current proposals will only be reversed if people present good reasons and solid facts; petitions are unlikely to sway the decision: “It’s not the weight of numbers but the quality of the responses that’s important”, she said.
The consultation period ends on 2 April and a decision is expected to be announced in May.
To take part in the consultation, contact the Post Office:
Anita Turner
Network Development Manager
C/o National Consultation Team
FREEPOST CONSULTATION TEAM
By email to: consultation@postoffice.co.uk
Post Office Customer Helpline: 08457 22 33 44
To sign the council’s petition, visit:
http://www.lbhf.gov.uk/postofficeclosures
Yasmine Estaphanos
March 27, 2008
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