October 26th 2008

The following letter was published in the Sheffield Telegraph today. Please lobby your MP and ask him/her to sign EDM 1506 as a matter of urgency and help ensure that more than half of all MPs have signed the motion prior to the decision which is due before Christmas.

Thank you for your support.

Eamonn Ward
SCAPOC (Sheffield Communities Against Post Office Closures)

Alistair Tice - Sheffield Communities Against Post Office Closures

We knew the Post Office Ltd consultation was a sham but, like many others, I was very angry when the closures were confirmed.
Angry on behalf of everyone who campaigned so hard, the customers who will lose their local post offices and the postmasters/mistresses and staff who will lose their livelihoods and jobs.

Now Sheffield Communities Against Post Office Closures (SCAPOC) will be pushing for the council to provide support and assistance to keep branches operating within the community.

There is another very immediate threat looming. A government decision is due before Christmas which could privatise the successor to the Post Office Card Account (POCA). It is used by four million people nationally as a way of receiving benefits and pensions and earns the Post Office £200 million each year. House of Commons Early Day Motion 1506 was tabled on May 7 and has been signed by 258 MPs. It "recognises that the Post Office is best placed to provide this service because of its unrivalled geographical reach, its status as a trusted brand".

It "believes that retaining the successor of the POCA as a Post Office product is essential to the viability of the Post Office network".

To date only one Sheffield MP has signed the motion, Angela Smith. It is important that Clive Betts, David Blunkett, Richard Caborn, Nick Clegg and Meg Munn sign this motion now and send a clear message to the government. They all know how important Card Accounts are to the future of the branch network. Without them there won't be a network.

Please send your own message about this to your MP.

Clive Betts 2nd Floor, Barkers Pool House, Burgess Street, Sheffield S1 2HF bettsc@parliament.uk

David Blunkett 4th Floor, Palatine Chambers, Pinstone Street, Sheffield S1 2HN dbconstituency@aol.com

Richard Caborn 2nd Floor, Barkers Pool House, Burgess Street, Sheffield S1 2HF cabornr@parliament.uk

Meg Munn 2nd Floor, Barkers Pool House, Burgess Street, Sheffield S1 2HF munnm@parliament.uk

Nick Clegg 85 Nethergreen Road, Sheffield S11 7EH nickclegg@sheffieldhallam.org.uk

Angela Smith MP, MP's office, Hillsborough Library,Middlewood Road, Sheffield, S6 4HD smithac@parliament.uk