Clive Sneddon backs £2 billion plan to save the post office network
Dundee East Liberal Democrat parliamentary spokesperson Dr Clive Sneddon has joined Cllr Helen Dick in welcoming the Liberal Democrats' proposals for a £2 billion plan to safeguard the future of the Post Office Network and the Universal Service Obligation.
Clive said today (6th March 2006), "Scotland has lost more than one in ten of its post offices since May 2001, and Royal Mail's Chief Executive has now warned that 10,000 branches could close over the next 4 years, which would be more than half the present network. This is not modernisation but butchery."
The Liberal Democrats want to safeguard the post office network by keeping it in public ownership, and by hiving it away from Royal Mail. Royal Mail will remain 51% publicly owned, with a shared ownership model: 25.5% owned by the Government and 25.5% by a trust for Royal Mail staff. New capital will be raised to develop the post office network for local communities by selling to the public a minority stake in Royal Mail, 24.5% to staff and small investors, and 24.5% for general sale.
Clive concluded, "Only the Liberal Democrat proposals offer a viable future for an expanding post office network and the maintenance of the Universal Service Obligation to deliver all mail throughout the UK. The recent decision by the Department for Work and Pensions not to extend beyond 2010 the contract for the Post Office card account used by millions to collect benefits and pensions can still be reversed after the next general election."