Anger at threat to thousands of our post offices

FEARS are growing that many elderly and vulnerable people in West Sussex will be left without a local post office in a Government attempt to save money.

By The Newsroom

Published 14th Dec 2006, 16:38 BST

Updated 8th Jun 2018, 04:19 BST

Trade and Industry Minister Alastair Darling is expected to announce this week that up to 7,000 of the 14,500 branches nationwide will go.

The move could lead to thousands of people, particularly in rural areas, losing a valuable service and the proposals have been met with anger from both those who use the the postal service and by post office workers themselves.

Many critics claim the Government has driven the need for closures, as the provision of pensions, TV licences and passports have been cut from many post offices.

Joe Harris, general secretary of the National Pensioners' Convention commented: "The Government has caused the problem and now they are making the post office pay."

Between 1999 and 2005, 117 rural post offices have been closed across Sussex.

See this weeks West Sussex Gazette for more.

Government West Sussex Gazette