Lynne's Parliament and Haringey diary

1. Even on purely narrow financial terms, it's not as simple as saying "Post Office making a loss so it should close" - because many of those currently under threat of closure are actually making a profit.
2. Losing a key local service such as a Post Office can have a serious knock-on effect on other local businesses - which in turn, even purely on a financial basis, means a short term apparent saving can turn out to be a long term cost.
3. Anyway, is life really all just about money? I think there are more important values in life than the bottom of a balance sheet. For many people the local Post Office is a key part of the local community, and I think that sense of neighbourliness and belonging is something that matters and is something to be cherished. Put it like this - would you judge who your friends are purely on how much money they've got? There are other things that matter than money.
4. That said, we shouldn't be naive about costs. But one thing we are lacking is any real drive to help make Post Offices more financially vibrant, such as by using them as the delivery point for more public services in future. With drive and imagination, there's much that could be done to strengthen their role in the community, rather than to gut it.

And if I've persuaded you ... there's a petition at ourcampaign.org.uk/haringeypostoffices

Labels: post offices

# Posted by Lynne Featherstone MP     Subscribe in a reader
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