Lib Dems Slam Labour Spin Over Post Office Closures

10.44.33pm GMT Tue 30th Jan 2007

Lib Dems Steve Goddard and Cllr. Richard Huzzey campaigning against proposed post office closures

Oxford Lib Dems have responded to MP Andrew Smith's comments on a motion against Post Office closures passed by the city council.

The move follows an online petition by city Lib Dems against the Labour government's proposals to close 2,500 post offices. As New Labour's MP for Oxford East, Mr. Smith has a record of sounding sceptical of his own government while consistently backing its policy.

Lib Dem parliamentary spokesman for Oxford East, Dr. Steve Goddard, has called out Smith on his latest attempts to spin away bad news from the Labour government.

"For Andrew Smith to suddenly discover he's concerned about post office closures is a case of better late than never, " Steve said. "Unfortunately, under the government Mr Smith represents, some 15 post offices have closed in Oxford since 1999 - and he must be keen for his colleague Alistair Darling to spare his blushes by not shutting any more this year."

"Mr Smith says that people should use post offices more; but closures of post offices in Sandhills and St Clement's, to name but two, seemed to have been tenuously connected with their level of use. The fact is that Labour has failed our post office service at least as badly as the Tories did before them - and we can only hope that the situation in Oxford won't get any worse."

City councillor Richard Huzzey said, "words are cheap, Andrew Smith's actions speak volumes. The last post has been sounded at too many city post offices; it's time to stamp out these new plans for 2,500 closures nationally."

"Whether or not post offices in or around Oxford would be culled," he continued, "we need to establish a clear principle that the Post Office has a future serving local communities independent of Royal Mail meddling. We have a national network of one-stop-shops for government services that it would be criminal to throw away."

Related Links:

Register *your* support for our Post Offices petition.

Read about the launch of the Post Offices campaign.