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John Leech MP fights to save Post Offices from the axe
June 18, 2008 2:38 PM
The Lib Dems will continue to fight Labour's Post Office closure programme
John Leech MP has launched a petition to save Post Offices from being forced to close their doors for good.
John Leech has also tabled a Parliamentary Motion slamming Labour's Post Office closures
He was joined by the three other Liberal Democrat Greater Manchester MPs, Liberal Democrat Cheadle MP Mark Hunter, Rochdale MP Paul Rowen, and Hazel Grove MP Andrew Stunell, in launching the petition outside Spring Gardens Post Office in the city centre.
John Leech said: "I am outraged that Labour plan to close 56 more Post Offices across Greater Manchester. 2 of these are in the constituency I represent. This is on top of the 21 that have already closed across the city in the past three years.
"Post Offices are a lifeline to many people in the community, providing vital services that they would have to travel great distances for if their local Post Office was to shut."
The Labour government announced that a further 2,500 branches would close in addition to the 4,000 that have already been axed since Labour came to power in 1997. 3,500 were also closed by the previous Conservative government.
1. 67 of the 380 branches in Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Derbyshire are set to close: The offices to shut include 11 in Stockport; 8 in Oldham; 5 in Manchester; 7 in Bolton; 5 in Bury; 7 in Rochdale; 3 in Salford; 6 in Tameside; 3 in Trafford and 1 in Wigan.
2. The Liberal Democrat campaign to save Greater Manchester's Post Office branches has been extensively covered in the local press:
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1053321_mps_join_post_offices_fight
http://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/s/1053066_more_post_offices_axed
3. John has tabled a Parliamentary motion in opposition to the closures, the text of which is set out below:
EDM 1749
POST OFFICE CLOSURES IN MANCHESTER
That this House condemns the Labour Government's decision to close 2,500 Post Offices and the recent announcement that 67 Post Offices across Greater Manchester and High Peak are threatened with closure, including five in Manchester; recognises that local Post Offices provide a vital service to their communities and play a valuable role in the sustainability of local shops; notes with concern that the Post Office has failed to justify why specific branches have been selected for closure; and calls upon local people from across the region to campaign against the closures and to lobby the Government to bring the closure programme to a halt.
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