The great Post Office debate in full

For those who want to read the full debate on post office closures last week, you can find it either on the Hansard pages on the House of Commons website, or at the "Theyworkforyou" website at the following URL

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2008-03-19b.946.1

For residents of Copeland who have not already seen this from the News and Star, you may like to know that the following motion to stop post office closures was supported by Conservatives, Lib/Dems, Scottish Nationalists, Welsh Nationalists, and Independents, and also by 19 Labour MPs who were willing to put the interests of their constituencies before their party.

"That this House regrets the proposal to close up to 2,500 post offices;

* recognises the vital role post offices play in local communities;

* notes the concern and unpopularity amongst the general public of closing such a large portion of the network;

* has concerns that the access criteria laid down for the closures consultation do not adequately take into account local geographical factors and public transport networks;

* is concerned that the consultation period is only for six weeks rather than three months, as recommended by Cabinet Office guidelines;

* believes that post offices must move with the times in the services they offer and that options for business expansion and developing business opportunities with local authorities should be explored further;

* and calls upon the Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform to instruct Post Office Limited to suspend the compulsory closure of sub-post offices while these issues are re-assessed."

The MP for Copeland voted against this motion by supporting a government amendment which deleted everything in it except for the first three words ("That this House").

Then, within hours of supporting the closure programme, his office started to ring round the threatened post offices in Copeland asking them to put up petitions against closure and offering to help them to campaign against the programme he had just voted should continue.

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