Sell the Royal Mail and save the Post Offices

The announcement of the closure of so many post offices in our villages is a nail in the coffin for many of the villagers. The Local Development Framework currently being developed for the Borough specifically seeks to exclude villages without services, and these closures will have therefore a double impact.

The national network of post offices has suffered over two decades of steady decline. Since 1979 over 7,000 post offices have closed, 4,000 of which since 1997 alone. The rural network has only been saved from collapse by an annual Government subsidy of £150million. This subsidy is due to run out in 2008.

The reason for so many post offices having to close is simple. Sub-postmasters have seen their income rapidly decline as a direct consequence of the Government's policy of Direct Payment into bank or post office accounts. Before the introduction of Direct Payment, up to 40% of the average sub-postmasters business derived from benefits and pension transactions.

The Government has failed to come up with any new public services that will fill this gap in income. Morale among sub-postmasters has plummeted as viable businesses have been destroyed and no long term future plan has emerged.

I believe a vibrant and viable post office network is a national priority and I am delighted that our local MP has finally climbed aboard the campaign to save the post offices which provide vital services to some of the most vulnerable people in our society: older people, disabled people, the unemployed and the financially excluded. The closure of a local post office has a profound effect on people and communities.

We need to liberate post offices to enable them to offer a combination of commercial and public services and benefits transactions. We want post offices to be 'hubs of information' where people can access government services online and make transactions with local and national government over the counter. High street banks could also make their services available at the post office.

I believe a competitive market operates in the best interests of consumers. Royal Mail already faces stiff competition from the German and Dutch post offices and other private companies. To compete effectively Royal Mail will need to operate in a more flexible, commercial and profitable manner. Opening up the market will enable this. If Royal Mail is to invest in its operational structure and its workforce we must equip it with the tools to generate that investment.

It is vital that we give Royal Mail the commercial freedom to strengthen its operations so that it is not edged out of the market in these profitable areas. So perhaps the time has come to sell the Royal Mail, not to another business but to us! Let ordinary people buy the Royal Mail and use the money raised from the sale to create a fund that can guarantee the survival of the rural network