Post offices gagged from speaking the truth

Zimbabwe is in meltdown. The economy has collapsed and people struggle to survive under a tyrannical regime where speaking out can lead to beatings and murder. So no surprise that Jonathan Armstrong fled with his family leaving property and possessions behind to start a new life in Britain a couple of years ago.

Now I am not for one minute comparing the Post Office with an evil dictator. However, there is a sad irony when you try to chat to Jonathan in the Windmill Drive post office in the picturesque seaside town of Bexhill on Sea, Sussex.

Jonathan is keen to speak out and explain his frustration about the Post Office and the way it is handling the closures. Yet he has been gagged from opening his mouth. Locals obviously love the fantastic post office job he and his family do for the community - which is why they asked me to visit this threatened branch.

But the Post Office has ordered silence to manage the truth. It doesn't like bad publicity and leaks expose how ham-fisted they handle the closures - forcing money making branches out of business. Branches facing the bullet must sign an official secrecy agreement or suffer the threat of losing any pay off entitlement.

In a democratic nation it seems outrageous such corporate bullying tactics should be allowed to go on. But in reality it is probably just a game of poker and if you do speak out the Post Office will not send round the boys with baseball bats - they really aren't that bad.

Yet they are certainly happy to stoke that atmosphere of fear and revel in the Orwellian double-speak of 'consultation' instead of the word 'closure' as well as propaganda advertising to divert attention from the culling of 2,500 branches.

Yet we must keep our message honest and clear - Save Our Post Offices.

Toby Walne, Travels With Toby, Financial Mail on Sunday

toby@walne.co.uk

Comments

[sylvia howe]

I had a water meter installed for my one-person household about 4-5 years ago. During that first full year my water cost me £130.00, whereas my neighbour, also a one-person household, paid out £290.00 via the rates system.

Naturally she has now got a water meter, and another single neighbour also has a water meter.

A friend of mine, who does some hairdressing from home, also saves money having a water meter. It is only families of more than 3-4 people that will not benefit, but why should single pensioners (me) subsidise them?

It won't be long before the Government makes water meters compulsory.

[ANGELA RODGERS]

My husband and I bought a bungalow in 2004. My water rates were just short of £500 per year (£50 per month). As we are low water users ie we have water buts installed for watering garden, take our car to the car wash we had a meter installed in summer 2005 and our water bill is now £17 per month. What a saving!!!

[Onnalee Cubitt]

My closest Post Office is in Old Basing, Basingstoke Hampshire. It is a thriving Post Office. It has been selected for closure. We organised petitions as part of our fight back since we had been advised this was a consultation process. Our MP, Maria Miller has been chasing the Post Office since the announcements requesting them to provide her/us with the prescribed criteria they have used to select Old Basing and other Post Offices in her constituency. We have had NO RESPONSE to repeated requests.

I was advised by Nickolls, the Head of the Consultation team at the Post Office that petitions are not relevant and will not be taken into account since no one supports any PO closure. The Government has ordered these closures and the only way to have the decision reversed is to demonstrate that the criteria they have applied is flawed/incorrect. But we can't do this because the PO will not give our MP the specific criteria applied.

How many other Post Office closures are experiencing the same problems as us?

What can we do to up the ante?

We all feel so powerless and yet this is supposed to be a consultation process.