POLITICSWATCH: MPs relief over Post Office plan

9:31am Saturday 15th November 2008

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A CHORUS of approval from both side of the Commons met Thursday’s decisions to give the Post Office card account directly to the post office.

The news announced by the Secretary of State for Pensions, James Purnell, means that local sub-post offices are guaranteed a source of income.

The Post Office card account was introduced in 2003 as an alternative to bank accounts for people couldn’t or didn’t want to open a bank account.

It also ended the end for giros and payment books for pensioners and benefit claimants and guaranteed footfall in local post-offices which in some cases is the difference between staying open and closing down.

MPs from all parties have added their voices to campaigns to save constituency post-offices during the tender process, which saw the Post Office win out over a rival bit from the private company PayPoint.

MPs have been quick to post comments about the decision on their websites.

Eltham and Plumstead MP Clive Efford said: “My constituency has 5,430 card accounts and giving this contract to the Post Office means that our local sub-post offices can plan for the future with confidence”.

Mr Efford was one of a number of MPs who wrote to the Prime Minister asking for the contract to be given to the Post Office and had also signed early day motions calling for the move.

Buoyed by the raucous affirmation which met the announcement, Mr Purnell seemed impervious to Alan Duncan’s rebuttal that this was a “humiliating climbdown” by the government.

MP for Bexleyheath and Crayford, David Evennett, said the decision to award the contract to the Post Office between 2010 and 2015 was a “relief to constituents and sub-postmasters.”

Mr Evennett said: “The future of Post Offices would have been threatened had the contact been awarded to another firm, and the government should have made this decision much sooner.

“Their dithering caused much anxiety and taxpayer expense. Bexley has lost so many post offices under Labour already”.

Mayor is NOT a Londoner

Jim Dowd is angry at Mayor Boris Johnson’s decision to drop the Croydon Tramlink extension to Crystal Palace.

The Lewisham West and Penge MP is not short of criticism for the Mayor and his transport plans.

Mr Dowd said: “He shows that he has no leadership skills, but then again he is not a Londoner, and the people of our part of South East London can only be truly grateful that he was not around when the difficult decisions regarding the extension of the East London Line was made.”

He added: “This decision will have no effect on the life of Mr Johnson, but it is local people that will be the losers.”

Doctor and celebrity chef both clueless about food labels

Dr Howard Stoate has put his name to a parliamentary bill proposing a standardised system of nutritional labelling on all food products.

The Dartford MP also quizzed celebrity chef and food campaigner, Jamie Oliver, about the meaning of food labels.

At a Health Select Committee’s inquiry into health inequalities, Dr Stoate asked Mr Oliver: “If something says it contains 13 per cent of GDA of saturated fat is that good bad or indifferent is you are the mother of three kids?

“Because I don’t know and I’m a doctor!”

Mr Oliver replied: “I totally agree. What does it mean? Do you know what? I don’t even know!”