Local MP Dr Evan Harris joins with Parliament's Youngest MP to Attack Government Policy on Post Office Closures

4.10.01pm GMT Thu 2nd Nov 2006

Jo Swinson, Liberal Democrat MP for East Dunbartonshire and Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland, will campaign against local post office closures during a visit to Oxford this Friday, 3rd November.

Ms Swinson will be joined by Oxford West and Abingdon MP Dr Evan Harris,as well as members of Oxford City Council,Vale of White Horse District Council and local campaigners. The group will visit Sandleigh Post Office in Wootton, a local service under threat of closure, whose situation mirrors that of other local post offices across the country.

Ahead of the visit Ms Swinson commented:

"The Post Office has suffered for many years from systematic neglect at the hands of our Labour Government and the Conservative Governments that preceded it.

"By axing key services from the Post Office such as Post Office Card Accounts(POCA), the government is sounding the death knell for thousands of local post offices across Britain. Subpostmasters in my constituency estimate as much as 40% of their footfall is generated by benefits and POCA.

"Continuing to strip away services and support from the Post Office will ultimately result in the loss of vital services to the village population in Wootton. This shows how out of touch the government are with local communities."

Ms Swinson is a strong campaigner for saving post offices and the range of services they provide for local communities. Last year she collected 2,300 petition signatures to save a local post office in her constituency after the town supermarket threatened to withdraw services.

Whilst in Oxford Jo will also be making speeches at events organised by the Liberal Democrat students of Oxford University and Oxford Women in Politics.