Post Office Is Robbing The Poor To Pay The Rich - Teather

4.20.12pm GMT Mon 3rd Mar 2008

Sarah Teather is fighting the Government's closure plans

Local Liberal Democrat MP for Brent East Sarah Teather has spoken up against Post Office closures in the House of Commons, attacking the £4.5million bonuses Royal Mail bosses are set to pocket this year.

The bonuses paid to the board of directors is the equivalent to a subsidy of £26,600 for each branch under threat in London - more than enough to keep them afloat and save scores of sub-masters from redundancy.

Meanwhile, figures compiled by the Liberal Democrats show that, even before the latest cuts, London has less than half the number of post offices compared to the rest of the country. In the UK as a whole there is one post office for every 3860 people. In London there is just one Post Office for every 8460 people.

Local MP for Brent East and Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Business and Enterprise Sarah Teather said:

"These figures will leave Brent residents furious. It is outrageous that Royal Mail bosses are pocketing multi million pound bonuses at the expense of at the expense of people in Brent who are being forced to endure longer and longer queues.

"If this money was given to Post Offices in London instead we could easily save every single one of the local branches that Labour are determined to axe.

"Londoners already receive a sub standard Post Office service compared to the rest of the country, but the Government are pressing on with their unpopular closure plans regardless. The Government should be helping local Post Offices to develop their business rather than forcing more and more of them to go to the wall."

Related Link:

Read Sarah's question in the House of Commons.