ARGUS COMMENT...Keep fighting for your Post Office

10:14am Tuesday 26th February 2008

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THE public consultation to close 2,500 Post Offices across the UK including 20 in Gwent, is a sham according to one MP today.

Kate Hoey, who is chairwoman of the Commons All-Party Group on Sub-Post Offices, believes petitions against the plans, signed by thousands of people, are of no value because, she says, the Government is determined to plough ahead with the closures.

We reported how 12,000 people in Gwent have already objected to the proposal.

Like us, many feel strongly that this valuable local service should be saved.

In some communities they are a lifeline.

There is such strength of feeling over this issue that we thought there could be a reversal of the decision in some cases.

But today we learn that after consulting on 671 closures in England, just 24 have been saved.

That doesn't fill us with hope for our 20 threatened Post Offices.

But we still believe our Post Offices should be saved.

Many elderly and infirm people will be at a total loss if they were to go.

We urge people to continue to press ahead with their objections despite the comments from this MP because we fail to see how the Post Office or Government can simply dismiss the views of so many people.