Lib Dems Fight for Post Office Network
The Post Office network is crumbling. Over the last two decades, post offices have been closing at a rate of over 300 a year. Under the last Conservative Government, 3,500 local post offices closed, and under Labour another 4,000 have closed, hitting communities across the country.
And things are set to get even worse.
The Government's policy to avoid "unnecessary" rural Post Office branch closures came to an end in March. This policy has previously slowed down the rate of closure in rural areas.
Government financial support for rural post offices is due to end in 2008.
And the Government has announced that it will not extend its contract beyond 2010 for pension and benefit payments using the Post Office Card Account, worth £1billion of income for post offices between 2003 and 2010.
The likelihood is that, without government intervention, over the next few years, 10,000 of the current 14,000 post office branches (urban and rural) will close.
Following the passing of the new policy at Harrogate Conference in March 2006, the Liberal Democrats are the only party to have a costed and credible set of proposals to keep post offices open and, where necessary, to open others. Our opponents have no such policy.
Our plan keeps the Post Office Ltd in the public sector and enables Royal Mail employees to get a share in their company through a radical employee share ownership Trust, similar to the John Lewis Partnership. Royal Mail will take a new ownership model, with the sale of some of its shares providing the investment needed by our post offices.
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