Post Offices wil be decimated

Conservatives today attacked the Governments announcement that they will close 2,500 Post Offices branches across the Country, warning that it will hit the elderly and vulnerable in Burton and Uttoxeter.

Conservative Parliamentary Spokesman Andrew Griffiths said:-

"This is bad news for people in Burton and Uttoxeter. This Government already holds the record for closing Post Offices faster than any other, but they are now going to shut at least a further 2,500 branches over the next two years That will mean at least 4 post office closures locally, from the current level of only 24. The reality is that our Post Office network is about to be decimated. By the time of the next election this Government will have closed over one third of the entire Post Office network, and that is a shocking disservice to our commuity".

Andrew added:-

"This announcement means that local villages will lose their only shop and lots of vulnerable people will lose a service they depended upon. Ministers have taken no account of the needs of the elderly, of disabled people or of the most disadvantaged, the very ones who will lose out most from this closure programme. Andrew added: "Post Offices are the lifeblood of Burton and Uttoxeter, but since 1999 12 have closed in this area, and we expect 4 more to close as part of the latest threat. These cuts will hit the vulnerable and the elderly the hardest. Labour Ministers need to recognise that if the local Post Office closes, often the last shop in the vicinity closes as well, and a van for a couple of hours a week is no replacement for a Post Office open full time."