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Tories stand accused of dis-honesty over post office closures

Andy Slaughter Responds to Post Offices Accusation Tory proposal "dishonest," and "soundbite opportunism" "It was clear at both public meetings I have attended that while Labour MPs and councillors locally are genuinely working to preserve a post office network in west London, the Tories are posturing and have not even marshalled the bare facts of what is proposed. I find it ironic that the local Tories who are now throwing mud are extreme right-wing free marketeers, who do not believe in public subsidy to loss-making businesses under any circumstances. They are without conscience or merit."

Dave Hughes ● 6329d20 Comments

A sitting councillor of many years' standing, and he gets 41 fewer votes than a newbie!!Clearly he impressed the voters of Bedfont every bit as much as he impresses the people who use this forum.

Phil Andrews ● 6324d

Name Party Votes Elected (Y/N) BANERJI, REETENDRA NATH LIB DEM 583 N CATHERALL, CLARA ELIZABETH CONSERVATIVE 549 N DHIRI, MANOHAR LATA CONSERVATIVE 474 N HEYDON, RACHEL ANNE LABOUR 670 N HILLS, PETER RAYMOND IND ALLIANCE 749 Y HORWELL, KENNETH JOHN IND ALLIANCE 642 N HOWLISTON, JOHN ANTHONY LIB DEM 882 Y HUGHES, DAVID MICHAEL LABOUR 629 N LOBO, JULIUS IND ALLIANCE 533 N MUSHISO, RONALD CONSERVATIVE 452 N RACH, GIRISH AMRITLAL LIB DEM 574 N VIRK, JIWAN KANWAL LABOUR 745 Y

Paul Fisher ● 6324d

When he failed to be elected in 2006 ?

David Giles ● 6324d

He did tell us a while back that he did quite a lot of canvassing before the local elections in 2006.  My guess would be that the number of votes he received worked in inverse proportion to the number of people who actually met him.(Note to Dave: this means the more people who saw you for themselves, the fewer votes you received).

Phil Andrews ● 6325d

It still to this day astonishes me that some residents of this Borough actually voted for Dave Hughes!!

Paul Fisher ● 6325d

  "I dobt that wont be as much Fun" Duh!!!???    Actually, no - recall  "Duh!!!???"  Substitute with -  "quite pathetic"

Steve Taylor ● 6325d

Errr....yes....thank you David.We believe in intellectual debate on this forum and we are, as ever, grateful to you for giving us the official Labour Party viewpoint.

Phil Andrews ● 6325d

I dobt that wont be as much Fun as Phil Andrews announcement That he is not a Tory Rent Boy at Borough Council meeting, this does beg the question "how much love"...

Dave Hughes ● 6325d

"I expect Councillor Cadbury to announce at the next Borough Council that it was their idea!"So she's  still around then?

Steve Taylor ● 6326d

I expect Councillor Cadbury to announce at the next Borough Council that it was their idea!

Phil Andrews ● 6326d

"King Charles I was not a member of the Labour Party."David Hughes will tell us otherwise I expect!!

Paul Fisher ● 6326d

The Labour allegations that the Conservatives are in favour of an exclusively free market solution to the problems of the Post Office are simply untrue.It is also untrue that the Post Office or the Royal Mail were invented by and are the creations of the Labour Party.Whereas the Conservative Party in general is in favour of the free market, the Conservative Party has long recognised that certain vital public services such as the armed forces,the police and the post office should be run by Her Majesty's Government or its agencies.The origins of the Royal Mail go back many centuries. Originally, the only letters carried by the Royal Mail were those to and from the King and the Royal Court. In 1626, the service was extended to run between London and Plymouth; at the time, Plymouth was one of Britain's most strategically important ports. Soon, other postal services began and a network grew between the main cities. On 31 July, 1635, King Charles I issued a proclamation extending the use of the Royal Mail to the public.The Post Office was reorganised in 1660 and Henry Bishop was made Postmaster General. Bishop is remembered as the man who introduced the first postmark, issued in 1661.It was Rowland Hill who instigated the greatest reform of the postal service. His dream, which he was finally able to fulfil, was to have a cheap and efficient postal system which everybody could afford to use. He was also keen to introduce a convenient method of prepaying the postage and suggested 'a bit of paper just large enough to bear a stamp, and covered at the back with a glutinous wash'.Rowland Hill was knighted in 1860 by Queen Victoria for his services to the Empire. The Prime Minister from 1858 to 1859 was Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley,14th Earl of Derby, a Conservative, and the Prime Minister from 1859 to 1865 was Henry John Temple,3rd Viscount Palmerston, a Liberal.Edward George Geoffrey Smith-Stanley,14th Earl of Derby, became Prime Minister again in 1866 and  Conservative and Liberal Governments continued to run and develop the Royal Mail until the first Labour Government was formed in 1924. A historian may well argue that the problems with the Royal Mail started about 1924.The Labour Party was founded in 1900 - 265 years after King Charles I created the Royal Mail. King Charles I was not a member of the Labour Party.

David Giles ● 6326d

PhilI agree with you.The one in Brentford High St seems to run very well as a shop and PO.I just find the Tories attitude to the PO saga puzzling after years of free marketeer proposals.They can't have it both ways.

Neil Chippendale ● 6329d

NeilI'm not a free marketeer, but I guess someone who is might argue that post offices could be run profitably.What is particularly galling about the current proposals is that they refuse to even consider the possibility of amalgamating post office counters with existing businesses within the vicinity with a view to making them work.

Phil Andrews ● 6329d

I to do find it ironic that free marketeers, who do not believe in a public subsidy to loss-making businesses, under any circumstances, are bleating on about PO closures.

Neil Chippendale ● 6329d

David is absolutely right Steve, as always, wot you would know if you got educated.  The Post Office has announced it wishes to close some offices.  Our New Labour MPs announced that they opposed the closures then voted against a Conservative motion opposing the closures.  To their credit nineteen Labour MPs defied their party and voted in favour of keeping the offices open.So if any post offices are closed, it's all the fault of the opposition.  If the Third Runway goes ahead, it's all the fault of Spelthorne Council.  When the new administration at Hounslow Council makes budget savings they are cuts.  The old administration didn't make any budget savings and if you question that you shouldn't talk about the past.  The ICG's recent empowering motion was pointless and meaningless, and also sinister and Nazi.Are you beginning to get the drift Steve, or would you like our Dave to provide you with some more education?

Phil Andrews ● 6329d

Phew - thats good news - so its got nothing to do with the Tories then. I'm jusy wondering what all the fuss was about in Parliament the other week with 19 Labour members voting with the Tories against Labour.  I take it New Labour can't tell Post Office Counters Ltd not to close the various POs

Steve Taylor ● 6329d

Maybe when you get educated you would realise that its post office counters ltd that are closing the post office's

Dave Hughes ● 6329d

Er - so why does New Labour want to close the Post Offices?

Steve Taylor ● 6329d

FULL STORY "dishonest," and "soundbite opportunism" Related articles:  Andy Slaughter campaigning to save a local post officeAndy Slaughter Accused of "Hypocrisy" Over Post Offices When to Put Out Your Easter Rubbish Council Cash Set To Smarten Up Acton True Cost of Council's Communications Revealed Are Polyclinics the Way Forward?Council Asks Residents To Help Make Future PolicyEaling: Lowest Council Tax Rise for 10 Years Participate  Sign up for a free newsletter from ActonW3.com, ChiswickW4.com and EalingToday.co.uk We reported on this site last week a (along with a handful of National newspapers including the Independent and) that Andy Slaughter had been accused of hypocrisy after voting against Conservative plans while continuing his protests against local closures.Andy contacted us to put his view of the Conservative proposal: "The Tories' position on Post Office closures is dishonest and insults our intelligence. It does not even have the support of the National Federation of SubPostmasters whom they claim to champion."They ask for a review of the current closure programme - and they propose not the £150 million a year the Government will spend on subsidising loss-making offices, but nothing at all. That would mean a network not of 11,500 offices but 4,000. They must think we are very stupid."They are on record as accepting that thousands of post offices are not viable as long ago as October 2006, so their current position is just soundbite opportunism."My own position has been absolutely clear from the moment the London programme of closures was announced in early February. I have never said no post office will close, I have said my constituency is being unfairly targeted by Post Office Ltd with the number of proposed closures four times the national average. I also noted that the Post Office Limited had made basic errors of fact - including which offices were still open - which meant their proposals for this area were flawed. I also called upon the local councils to intervene and find homes for some of the offices. This they seem prepared to do, but only at nil extra cost to themselves."I do believe we can save some local offices - by clear and detailed submissions on the facts, not phoney resolutions. Both the local residents' group and the local press have adopted this approach, and I have received over 2,000 individual protests which will form part of my response to Post Office Limited. "It was clear at both public meetings I have attended that while Labour MPs and councillors locally are genuinely working to preserve a post office network in west London, the Tories are posturing and have not even marshalled the bare facts of what is proposed. I find it ironic that the local Tories who are now throwing mud are extreme right-wing free marketeers, who do not believe in public subsidy to loss-making businesses under any circumstances. They are without conscience or merit."Meanwhile, Postmasters await the results of the consultation which are due to be released in early May. Arun Taank, who runs the post office in Churchfield Road, said: "I am considering my options and I will see what is proposed after the consultation. At the end of the day, we live in the real world and much of our business is slowly being taken over by the internet."

Dave Hughes ● 6329d