Contact: Peter Black on 029 20 898744 or 07774 256123

Release: 4 September 2002

Porthcawl Liberal Democrats launch Post Office campaign

The Welsh Liberal Democrat Assembly Member for South Wales West, Peter Black, has joined with his party’s Councillors in Porthcawl to launch a campaign to fight Post Office closures around Wales.

Consignia has announced that as part of its plans to rationalise the Post Office network they will be embarking on a “reinvention” programme from January next year that could see half a dozen Post Offices disappearing from the Bridgend area. It is estimated that between 300 urban Post Offices in Wales are under threat as a result of the UK Labour Government’s plans to pay pensions and benefits directly into bank accounts.

Welsh Liberal Democrats have responded by running a petition around the Bridgend, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot area over the summer that has already raised 10,000 signatures and which is continuing to grow. The petition will feed into a national campaign being coordinated by Liberal Democrat MP, Vince Cable, which also highlights the threat to the daily postal delivery service posed by Government plans to have 60% of the postal service subject to competition by 2006/7. As part of that campaign, Peter Black visited Porthcawl this week to join with his party’s County and Town Councillors to highlight the importance of the Post Office to the town.

“The local Post Office is a vital part of the community and is too valuable to lose”, said Mr. Black. “It is not just rural communities where it forms an irreplaceable service but in towns and Cities too. That is why the New Labour Government in London must intervene to protect our local Post Offices from the changes that they are introducing. They must think again about plans to stop people collecting their pensions and benefits from the local Post Office. This business can make up 40% of the income of the local postmaster and without it many will be struggling to survive.”

“The huge support for our campaign has shown that people agree with the Liberal Democrats about the importance of the local Post Office. They are registering their protest in massive numbers and New Labour will do well to take notice of the strength of local feeling on this issue.”

END

N.B. The photograph attached shows Porthcawl County Councillor Gerald Davies posting his protest about Post Office closures to the UK Government watched by Peter Black AM and Liberal Democrat Councillors Norah Page, Alun Hawkins, David Richards and Mike Clarke.