SAVE OUR LOCAL POST OFFICES

They’re the backbone of Britain — and under threat. So today the Mail demands...

TOWNS and villages that have already lost their bank branches will be devastated if thousands of local post offices close as feared, campaigners warned last night.

Up to 2,500 will shut or downsize in the next year because financial struggles have put the network ‘beyond tipping point’, it has been claimed.

More than 1,000 have already shut, and 3,000 other branches described as the ‘last shop in the village’ are only being kept alive by subsidies.

High street banks axed 750 branches last year, leaving the post offices to offer vital banking services, a lifeline for many older customers in rural communities.

Today the Daily Mail launches a campaign calling on the Government to guarantee their future. We are calling for the network to be properly funded, with a full range of services over the counter for those who are not online.

Government subsidies for remote post office branches have already fallen from £415million in 2013-14 to £99million in 2017-18. Under current plans this will fall further to £50million in 2020-21 before being stopped completely.

Sub-postmasters, who run local post offices privately as franchises, are now paid as little as £12,000 a year by Post Office Limited. They also face the same plight as other high street concerns, such as extortionate business rates, rising staff costs and customers moving online.

Most post offices close when the sub-postmaster quits because of this financial squeeze.

At the moment Post Office Limited, which is owned by the Government, replaces branches when they shut, but campaigners have warned that the rate of closures in the coming years will make this impossible.

Last night MPs and peers backed the Mail’s campaign and called for immediate action.

Conservative MP Ian Liddell-Grainger, a member of the Commons business, energy and industrial strategy committee, said: ‘It is nothing short of a national disgrace that sub-postmasters are having to pay staff out of their own pocket to keep the service running.

‘I doff my cap to the Daily Mail for this important campaign, which is vitally needed.’

Labour peer Lord Hain added: ‘There has been a wilful lack of imagination and an unwillingness of government to commit to post office branches. For rural areas, it is absolutely crucial that they do not disappear.’

Former Conservative chairman Sir Patrick McLoughlin, the MP for Derbyshire Dales, said: ‘We need to find a way for post offices to continue being useful and usable.’

Britain’s 11,500 post offices face mounting financial pressures that, it is claimed, have already forced up to 1,000 out of business.

Sub-postmasters receive commission from the Post Office for services – for example, 3p each time they sell a stamp and 17p for a cash withdrawal. But more customers are going online to buy stamps and parcels, pay bills and to use government services.

Sub-postmasters have told a committee of MPs their take-home pay can be as little as £2 per hour. Three in four earn less than the minimum wage, according to a survey by the National Federation for Sub-Postmasters. Campaigners have raised particular concerns about the 3,200 mostly rural offices that only remain open thanks to a subsidy that is due to stop in 2021.

Mike Cherry, chairman of the Federation of Small Businesses, said: ‘With bank branches and cash points closing, a properly funded post office network is crucial to the success of small firms.’ Gillian Guy of Citizens Advice, added: ‘As the high street struggles, the post office continues to play an important role.’

Campaigners representing subpostmasters say their morale is at rock-bottom. Peter Hall of the NFSP said: ‘We received 12 closure notifications last week alone.’ The Post Office insisted: ‘We are working with postmasters and the NFSP to… ensure the network continues to thrive.’

The Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy Department said it had ‘provided over £2billion of investment in the network since 2010.’

A committee of MPs will hear evidence on the network today.

FOR generations, the post office has been much more than a place to buy stamps or pick up a pension; it has been an integral part of local life.

Especially in rural areas, it provides the essential glue which binds a community together. Indeed, for many elderly people and those who don’t drive, it offers invaluable contact with the outside world.

Perhaps, therefore, it is wise to heed warnings that the network faces a crisis.

Stricken by financial hardship, up to 2,500 post offices – a fifth – could shut next year, devastating towns and villages already reeling from bank branch closures.

Since many places have also lost police stations, libraries and pubs, it is little short of another catastrophic blow to the ailing high street. And that’s without the personal cost to those who lose livelihoods.

Today, the Mail kicks off a campaign to save Britain’s post offices.

First, we believe banks have a moral duty to step up to the plate. When high street lenders cut costs by closing branches, post offices agreed to take on basic services, including cash deposits and withdrawals.

Would it be asking too much to throw them a lifeline by paying decent fees? After all, taxpayers made enormous sacrifices to shovel billions into bailouts in the Square Mile’s hour of need. Meanwhile, oncelucrative revenue streams such as driving licences and road tax have plummeted during the inexorable march to digital.

If ministers continued to pay some £120million a year in subsidies – a drop in the ocean compared to the sums that saved the banks! – it would massively ease anxieties. Crippling business rates and soaring parking charges which compound difficulties could also be reduced.

Lastly, a coherent modernisation strategy is required. Post offices must be properly equipped and funded to embrace the internet age – giving customers more incentive to use them.

The Mail is acutely aware of the dangers of sepia-tinted nostalgia. Businesses must adapt or die. But post offices are more than just balance sheets – they are part of our social fabric. If they disappear, local life will be severely diminished.