Labour's Williams and Davies voted for post office closures

12.00.00am GMT Fri 21st Mar 2008

Dunvant's Welsh Liberal Democrat councillors John Newbury and Nick Tregoning have accused Swansea West Labour MP Alan Williams of failing to support local services after he voted to support the Government's massive post office closure programme.

The Government has ordered that one in five branches be closed. Opposition MPs tried to stop the closure programme on 19th March when a motion was proposed in the House of Commons demanding the Government halt their plans to make 2500 branches shut up shop.

But enough Labour MPs rallied around the Government's closure plans to reject the motion and ensure the closure programme can continue unhindered. One of those voting to close post offices was Swansea West MP Alan Williams.

Welsh Liberal Democrat campaigners John Newbury and Nick Tregoning are calling on Alan Williams to explain why he voted to close post offices.

"Mr. Williams has let down people in Dunvant and Swansea West by voting to allow the closures to continue," said John Newbury "In May - with local elections safely out of the way - the announcement will be made as to which branches here will be put forward for closure. This was an opportunity for Mr. Williams to make a stand on behalf of Dunvant residents. I am disappointed he has backed the Government rather than local people.

"The loss of post offices will hit communities hard. They are vital assets for many local people and closing them will cause many difficulties for older people and others with mobility problems, in particular.

"Sadly, it's not just Mr. Williams," continued Nick Tregoning. "Five years ago, when the Lib Dems warned that the post office network faced collapse, and urged Labour to act to protect it, Geraint Davies, the then Labour MP for Croydon Central, opposed us. Since then, thousands more post offices have closed across Britain.

"Now that Mr. Davies is Labour's candidate for Swansea West, he has suddenly discovered the post office closure issue and has been busily campaigning to save Dunvant's post office. What hypocrisy!

"Despite the decisions of Labour's Alan Williams now, and Geraint Davies in 2002, to help the Government press ahead with closure, local Welsh Liberal Democrats are continuing to fight the demolition of the post office network."