Lib Dems Demand Council Acts to Save Post Offices

Bedford Borough council should act to save local post offices from closure, say Liberal Democrats. Bedford Borough Lib Dems have demanded that the Mayor and his Cabinet do more than simply oppose closures and take real action to save vital branches ahead of the announcement in July of the list of local post offices in the set to be shut. The calls follow news of a range of plans by other local authorities to save threatened branches from the government's programme of 2,500 post office closures, including taking over the running of post offices.

Bedford Borough Liberal Democrat Group Leader Cllr Michael Headley, who will challenge the Mayor and his Cabinet to commit to take action at Wednesday's meeting of the Council's Executive, said:

"Communities across Britain have been let down by the government and are already losing their local post offices as part of its savage cull. We must not allow our local communities to suffer in the same way. The council needs to be prepared to stand up for our communities here in Bedford Borough. The final list of local post offices that are planned to be closed will be announced in July, and we must prepare to take the action necessary to keep vital local branches open.'

"We will fight closures every step of the way. Our local post offices are simply too valuable to lose, and the council must be prepared to take real action to save vital local branches."

In November a map revealing post office branches in Bedford Borough planned for closure was published mistakenly on the Post Office Website, despite the fact that the consultation on local closures is not due to begin until 8th July 2008. Bedford Borough Liberal Democrats launched the Save Bedford's Post Offices campaign immediately and have been gathering support in the fight to save local branches. With other local authorities working to prevent the closure of local branches, the Lib Dems are demanding that Bedford Borough Council be prepared to step in and take whatever action it can to support local communities facing the loss of their post office.