Post Offiffice move was purely political

The Post Office ‘consultation’ was never about whether or not the Crown Post Office in Wokingham should move to WHSmith. It was about issues such as access/disability access and services offered. Even then these issues were not seriously considered by Post Office Ltd as important.

The reason for the transfer is political. Not only backdoor privatisation as this government does not believe in public spending, but also helping out a private company that is clearly in financial straits on the High STreet.

The only way the closure could be stopped was by John Redwood persuading his Tory colleague, the minister dealing with Post Office (Kelly Tolhurst) to reconsider, as Iain Duncan Smith did in Chingford.

Unfortunately John Redwood is too busy trying to take Britain out of the EU (and, in my view, damaging our economy) than dealing with constituency issues.

The question now is if WHSmith collapses, will the Post Office remain? Other parts of the country where it has transferred into a retail outlet suggests not. As no one knows the deal that the Government and Post Offices Ltd has made with WHSmith, John Redwood should be making t clear to the minister that the Post Office should remain if the outlet closes.

Labour party’s policy is not only to bring Royal Mail and Post Office

Ltd back into an integrated public service, as it still is in most other major economies. It is also to create a Post Office bank that will provide a financial service on the high Street.

This is needed because that other bastion of the British economy, the major banks, are not interested in providing a service to small business or individual customers.

Their main emphasis is making money to pay inflated salaries to idle directors who leave after a few years. The latest one of these is the ex-RBS chief, ROss McEwan, who is no doubt laughing all the way to his own bank.

Ian Warrick, CWU SE No 5 branch