Post Office Closures in Waltham Forest

Speech by Cllr Bon Carey, Chapel End Ward delivered to Full Council, Waltham Forest, 20th March 2008 on Tue 25th Mar 2008

Our motion does not only set out our continuing opposition to the closures within Waltham Forest - it seeks to reaffirm our opposition to the Network Reinvention scheme by committing Waltham Forest Council to oppose the Post Office closures programme, a commitment the Liberal Democrats first asked the Council to make 5 years ago.

Below is the full text of Cllr Bob Carey's speech to Waltham Forest Council as he introduced the Liberal Democrat motion 'Post Office Closures in Waltham Forest':

Thank you Mr Mayor

I would hope that nobody from any side of this chamber wants to see our local post offices closed.

Realistically, though, nobody of any political creed, in any council chamber in this country, is likely to be standing up and arguing for the closure of his or her local branch.

We are delighted with the backing that Waltham Forest residents have given efforts to save services within our borough - not just during this short period of high profile opposition, but over the last 5 years and beyond.

In the short term, we will of course continue to lead the vital campaign to save threatened post offices branches within Waltham Forest. However, this is what local councils across the country are being forced to do - fire fight as part of a wholly insufficient six-week consultation.

The fact remains, though, that the Government are going to close 2,500 post office branches. If we are successful in campaigning to save at least one of out six threatened branches, what happens then? Do Redbridge lose another post office instead? Enfield? Newham?

Or do one of the other seven post office branches within Waltham Forest that have been highlighted as fitting the criteria for closure then face the axe instead?

If the elderly and vulnerable of Chapel End ward earn a reprieve, do we then instead say 'tough luck' to elderly and vulnerable Chingford residents, who may see their facility closed in an effort to meet the Government's quota?

Post Office representatives warned our own Overview and Scrutiny committee just last week that such an unsatisfactory outcome would be a real possibility.

The Liberal Democrats oppose the Government's post office closure programme. The belated scramble by Labour councillors, parliamentary candidates and Cabinet Ministers to oppose Government closures in their area is an understandable but cynical reaction to what is now the business end of the programme.

It is an almost embarrassingly hypocritical act designed to pass the buck and avoid the fierce criticism of those local residents who have been let down.

Our motion does not only set out our continuing opposition to the closures within Waltham Forest - it seeks to reaffirm our opposition to the Network Reinvention scheme by committing Waltham Forest Council to oppose the Post Office closures programme, a commitment the Liberal Democrats first asked the Council to make 5 years ago.

The Liberal Democrats welcome innovative measures aimed at keeping local services open, and we are keeping an open mind regarding any scheme that could save local services.

With regard to the scheme currently being investigated by Essex County Council, we welcome the recommendation of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and ask that the Council fully examine these measures. We have made this explicit in the last paragraph of our motion.

We would ask that the relevant portfolio holder for Enterprise and Investment investigate whether such an arrangement, or a similar scheme, could be introduced in Waltham Forest and report back to this chamber.

It is our most vulnerable residents who will be the hardest hit by any closures. Elderly residents and those with mobility impairments will be particularly affected. However, post offices provide more than a simple transaction point for financial services - they often act as the heart of a community, and these closures would lead to the loss of other local shops and businesses, threatening to rip the heart out of local some of our communities.

We as a Council must send a message to Government. Not only are we opposed to post office closures within Waltham Forest - we are opposed to the senseless closure of such vital community services FULL STOP.