MacDougall slams both Royal Mail and Tottenham Labour over post office closures 06/07/04

William MacDougall, the Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Tottenham, has accused Royal Mail chiefs of seriously depleting London's network of post offices.

Since December 2002, 190 post offices across London have either been shut or earmarked for closure. Another 120 – including several in Tottenham - might also be at risk.

MacDougall claims the cutbacks will change permanently the face of Haringey. He says post offices are crucial to the commercial future of Tottenham, especially in deprived areas such as Northumberland Park and White Hart Lane.

The scale of the closures has been masked by the decision to spread the programme over two years, and to announce the closures only on a constituency-by-constituency basis.

The strategy, says MacDougall, is to enable the Post Office to avoid a public backlash.

MacDougall said:

“Post office closures hit those most vulnerable in our community; the disabled, pensioners and those on low incomes.

“To date Royal Mail’s ‘consultation’ programme has been a sham. Now they want to close our post offices by stealth. Tottenham Conservatives will campaign hard to keep our local post offices open if Royal mail threaten them with closure.”

Post Office Ltd, part of the Royal Mail Group, began the two-year scheme in 2002 to stem losses. By December, the number of branches in Greater London could have fallen by 310, from 1,163 to 853.

MacDougall also blasted David Lammy, the man he aims to defeat, and several Labour councillors, including Cllr Sheila Peacock, the current Mayor, for saying one thing, and doing another.

“The government's decision to pay social security benefits into bank accounts has meant sub-postmasters losing money for the past two years. David Lammy supported that controversial policy. As recently as July last year, Tottenham’s Labour councillors, at Full Council, opposed an opposition-sponsored motion to keep the pension book. For the Tottenham Labour Party to campaign to ‘save’ our post offices is sheer opportunism.”

ENDS.

Notes to Editors:

1.      New Labour voted to axe up 3,000 urban post offices. Charles Kennedy, Leader of the Liberal Democrats, failed to vote.

2.      On 15th July 2003, Tottenham Labour councillors, led by Cllr Sheila Peacock, voted against an opposition motion to retain the pension book.

3.      Pension books are used by 8,626 older people in Haringey