Liberal Democrats lead countywide support for Post Offices (Cheltenham Liberal Democrats)

Cheltenham Liberal Democrats <info@cheltlibdems.org.uk>

Liberal Democrats lead countywide support for Post Offices

May 27, 2008 12:32 PM

Gloucestershire County Council has passed a motion deploring the widespread closure of Gloucestershire Post Offices.

As a result of the Liberal Democrat motion, the Council is committed to supporting "the retention of Post Office facilities where practicable, particularly in communities with high proportions of elderly, disadvantaged and disabled."

The Conservative Cabinet, however, refused to commit to spending any money, even if that would allow local branches to be saved. This comes after they took months to call a meeting between the Post Office and Gloucestershire MPs, when the Council had called for this to be done urgently.

"The Tories in the Cabinet are dragging their feet on this," said Councillor Roger Brown. "They don't have any ideas on what to do, and worse than that they're failing to implement the initiatives that the Council keeps calling for. It's also disappointing that they have totally ruled out any financial support"

"Other Councils are pushing ahead with action," agreed Councillor Jeremy Hilton, leader of Gloucestershire County Council Liberal Democrats. "Like in Essex, where they're stepping in to fund threatened Post Offices for the next three years. But in Gloucestershire we're being let down by a lack of action. It's really disappointing that more isn't being done."