The Post Office will shut around 2,500 branches across the country, despite strong opposition from the general public. Management carried out a nationwide ‘consultation’ programme, aimed at trying to convince the doubters. However, the list of branches that were to be axed were announced this week.
The government, despite repeatedly losing the arguments on this issue, went ahead to decide on the cuts. Many people who use the post offices will now have to travel further to get a decent service. These services are a lifeline to many people, particularly the elderly, parents with young children, and the disabled. Now as in any other public service, they have to be, in the government’s eyes, ‘lean and mean’, and they have to be run to make a profit, otherwise, they are no good.
It must be extremely embarrassing for a so-called Labour government to have closed more PO’s than any other since World War II. Many people would think in the light of the 10p tax row and the recent local elections debacle, they would seriously consider changing their policies…. but any protest seems at the moment to be falling on deaf ears.
Inevitably, this will mean that government minsters are going to spend the next two years defending the indefensible, because they seem either too arrogant, or too unwilling, to change direction.