Post Office closures will go ahead (From Daily Echo)

Post Office closures will go ahead

7:38am Thursday 20th March 2008 in News By Echo Reporter

THE CLOSURE of dozens of Hampshire post offices will go ahead as planned after a last ditch attempt to save them was defeated in Parliament last night.

A Tory motion demanding Post Office bosses "suspend" the Government's programme to axe up to 2,500 branches across the UK - including about 60 in Hampshire - was rejected in the Commons by a majority of just 20 votes.

The motion was supported by the Lib Dems but opposed by most Labour MPs even though many of them - including Southampton's John Denham and Alan Whitehead - have campaigned against closures in their constituencies.

Labour MPs were accused by Tory Post Offices spokesman Charles Hendry of a "betrayal of the most vulnerable people in their constituencies that will haunt them for the rest of their careers".

Chris Huhne, Lib Dem MP for Eastleigh, said Mr Denham should have resigned from his Government post as Skills Secretary to oppose the post office closures in the same way as he did over the Iraq war.

Mr Denham hit back, saying: "It's quite possible to support overall Government policy of capping the taxpayers' subsidy to post offices, and putting more money in, while not agreeing with the way the Post Office takes every single decision."