Blackpool: Fight on for post office

The fight to save Blackpool's historic Crown post office has been stepped up with the town's MPs fearing that vulnerable residents will be hit by the closure - reports the Blackpool Citizen.

Plans were announced by Royal Mail last month to close the Abingdon Street office and transfer services to WH Smith in Bank Hey Street, as part of a nationwide cost-cutting initiative which will see 76 Crown Post Offices closed.

Both MPs for the town, Gordon Marsden and Joan Humble have signed a Commons motion, which has so far been supported by 30 MPs, calling for more consultation and expressing anger at the decision.

Not enough "anger", however, to consider blocking the government's completely unjustified 60% proposed increase in payments to the audit-failing EU, to divert the £2.5 billion a year at stake to supporting lifeline post offices serving "vulnerable" constituents instead.

Mr Marsden has also written to the managing director of the Post Office, Alan Cook, seeking assurances about services and postal workers' jobs.

In the letter, he states: "The Post Office provides a service to the most vulnerable people in Blackpool, the disabled, those claiming benefits, as well as the elderly and unemployed.

"What plans do you have to relocate the service counters with WH Smith, which has a far smaller surface area in my estimation and how will you ensure that elderly and disabled customers are able to use the new facilities easily?"

Mrs Humble said that there should be much more debate before the decision is finalised.

She said: "I will be seeking information from the Royal Mail, the DTI and ministerial colleagues on the reasons behind it and the treatment of the staff who work there.

"Whenever I go into the Abingdon Street post office it is very busy and provides an excellent service in an ideal location.

"I have my doubts whether relocating the office to WH Smith will be able to provide the same level of service.

"It is also a one of Blackpool's most eyecatching buildings and I will be seeking clarification on its future."

Both Blackpool MPs Gordon Marsden and Joan Humble have said they intend to vote in favour of the EU budget deal when it comes before Parliament for approval.

Both clearly seem to think that Blackpool's public services have all the money they could use, so gifting billions of pounds a year to the EU is affordable.

Yet auditors haven't been able to approve the "majority" of EU spending for twelve years in a row, and every week it seems there is a new report of EU waste or fraud.

So Marsden and Humble may well protest when the effects of shortages of public money are felt in their constituencies. But if they vote to waste vast sums on the EU - a 60% increase over what we already pay - then they alone bear ultimate responsibility for local problems that could be solved with a little extra financial support from government.