THE latest move in a campaign to support rural post offices was this week launched by West Devon and Torridge MP Geoffrey Cox. Mr Cox has started a constituency-wide petition, calling on the Government to reconsider its decision to withdraw support from the post office network, ahead of a parliamentary day of action to be held in November. He said: ?It would seem that the Government has decided to pull the plug on rural post offices. It has announced it is withdrawing the Post Office card account and the subsidy it pays to sustain the smallest branches.? The petition, which will be appearing in post offices across West Devon in the next few days, will be formally presented to the House of Commons by Mr Cox as part of a day of action organised by the MP in conjunction with the Post Masters? Federation. Sub-postmasters will be invited to come to the Commons to lobby ministers and MPs ? Mr Cox will also deliver a copy of the petition to the Prime Minister. Mr Cox launched his post office campaign earlier this year ? in June he presented the Commons with the results of a survey of sub-post offices, which revealed only 4% of sub-postmasters were confident the withdrawal of the Post Office card account would not jeopardise the viability of their business. In July, the Parliamentary under Secretary of State with responsibility for the post office network, Jim Fitzpatrick, admitted that support for rural post offices was committed for the next two years, but that the Government was ?of the opinion that cannot continue?. Mr Cox said: ?It would seem the decision to let the rural Post Office network collapse has already been taken and it is esential we mobilise support from across the region ? indeed the country ? if the 10,000 sub-post offices currently threatened are to be saved.?
