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Rural Post Offices face death knell

Firstly the Government is withdrawing the invaluable Post Office account system for benefits and pensions payments, meaning that everyone will be forced to take out a bank account with one of the thieving immoral banking corporations. Anyone would think the Government wanted people to owe more and more money to the inherently immoral banks, banks that hound people to death over trifling debts.

Secondly the Government is removing the £150m rural subsisdy from 2008, allowing over 6,000 important rural village links to wither and die. That's 6000 villages that will lose their last shop, the last thing that binds the community together.

Thirdly, the BBC now refuses to sell TV Licenses through the Post Office, forcing people to pay the thieving BBC tax through a direct debit system that means the BBC gets to have its cake and eat it.

The Prime Minister's response? Let them die.

It goes to show what New Labour really think of the rural people, especially the rural poor and housebound. Rural people don't tend to vote Labour, so screw them, they don't count. It's no wonder rural people don't vote Labour when you have filth like this running the party. It's no wonder rural life in this country is on its knees, with the line drawn between those too poor to leave their house, and the Southern rich who only live there five weekends a year.

As for the BBC, well, it should be ashamed of itself for this. So much for "protecting the nation", as the pro-BBC tax spiel goes, as the BBC allows 6000 rural villages to lose their last shop. If the BBC isn't going to protect the nation's heritage then its entire purpose is gone, and it should be sold off and closed down, the proceeds going on rural development aid.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Thing is, this isn't just about rural post offices rather it affects them all. problem is that the impact is felt greater in rural areas because the post office is usually a mainstay.

    Doesn't make it right by any means but you shouldn't link it only to rural areas.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Well Kermit knocked it on the head by saying that rural people don't tend to vote Labour and I think that's exactly the problem. 'They don't vote for us so fuck 'em'. First it's fox hunting and now rural post offices. Do they want everyone to move to suburbia, where 4x4s don't actually see a speck of mud all year? Or are they just jealous that people in the country have a stronger sense of community and values, get to breathe nice unpoluted air, don't have gangs of chavs roaming the streets and where the normal noise, is silence? In terms of the Gov't, £150m isn't that much money to keep the post offices afloat. I bet the cash is going to 'better projects' like this instead of to people who actually need it like the poor old country folk.

    MoK is also right is saying that the rural post office is more than just a post office. Like the local point, they are the community centres of the countryside; mainstays of the community and things that a lot of people in rural England cannot do without. Is Labour trying to fuck things up as much as possible since they know that they are going to lose the next election? Have they realised that they have made such alarmingly stupid errors and, rather than trying to patch them up in order to stay in power, thinking: fuck it, let's enjoy our time in power and fuck on as many people as possible who don't vote for us? God only knows.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    you'll be printing stamps off the internet anyway soon. doesn't stop collections. but yes i've had first hand experience of how frustrating this is, years back our shop shut had to travel 5 miles to nearest post office with a bus once every wednesday.
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    Teh_GerbilTeh_Gerbil Posts: 13,332 Born on Earth, Raised by The Mix
    Twats.

    New Labour is a bunch of arses. Post Offices are the central point of many villages.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Teh_Gerbil wrote:
    Twats.

    New Labour is a bunch of arses. Post Offices are the central point of many villages.


    true to an extent, but the one I grew up in it was the pub and the church and the post office third.

    the thing I don't get is that we had a massive campaign to stop our sub-post office closing just recently (I live on the edge of a city) and it reopened, but the serving staff as so miserable (don't say thank you and so on), that sometimes I think stuff it, I'll walk the 2 miles extra to the main one and at least be treated like a valued customer.

    on the news (R4 Today) this morning they were going on about how each transaction costs a pound at the post offfice, whereas it costs a penny at the bank, does the post office service represent 99p extra value?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote:
    Anyone would think the Government wanted people to owe more and more money to the inherently immoral banks, banks that hound people to death over trifling debts

    Seems an efficient way to control.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I think many post offices do represent the 99p value, especially in rural areas.

    Where GWST is from the nearest post office is about three miles from her house, but the nearest bank is in Carlisle, which is a 25-mile round trip. With one bus a week.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    This measure is one in a long line of nasty moves as far as the Post Office is concerned. They open it up to competition, yet tie its hands in terms of what it does as a company. So it has to compete on a totally uneven playing field, forced to deliver mail which it looses money on while other companies pick off the profitable sections.

    Either just let it run as a private company (post offices closed, prices increased) or actually run it as a public service - which it clearly is.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    At least there is a bus! Where I live, I have to walk three miles to catch the nearest bus!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    I am actually surprised the Torries arent making more headway on this issue. They could certainly win a huge sympathy vote if they championed the saving of the post office in all communities.

    I personally think this is yet another example of New Labours "Fuck 'em!" Attitude and i dont like it one bit!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote:
    Thirdly, the BBC now refuses to sell TV Licenses through the Post Office, forcing people to pay the thieving BBC tax through a direct debit system that means the BBC gets to have its cake and eat it.

    Wonder what you're supposed to do if your credit's too bad to have a direct debit enabled bank account...
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    SkiveSkive Posts: 15,286 Skive's The Limit
    Our nearest bank by bus is a 28 mile round trip - a journey which is both expensive and only comes 4 times a day. If ours closed it would be a fucker for many of the old dears round here.

    It should just be run as a public service.
    Weekender Offender 
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    katralla wrote:
    Wonder what you're supposed to do if your credit's too bad to have a direct debit enabled bank account...

    You can now get your TV licence through all the Pay Point places, and there are about ten times as many of them as there are post offices.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Kermit wrote:
    Firstly the Government is withdrawing the invaluable Post Office account system for benefits and pensions payments, meaning that everyone will be forced to take out a bank account with one of the thieving immoral banking corporations. Anyone would think the Government wanted people to owe more and more money to the inherently immoral banks, banks that hound people to death over trifling debts.
    Of course... Not to mention people who are technophobic and it will be difficult for older generations to get to grips with the new system. Furthermore... Can't the government see what is actually inside your bank accounts too? I mean if everybody has them it's easier to track people who are "scrounging". Also, the less people working in admin and on the papers, the less the government have to spend on employing.

    Labour government seem to like making people redundant.
    Secondly the Government is removing the £150m rural subsisdy from 2008, allowing over 6,000 important rural village links to wither and die. That's 6000 villages that will lose their last shop, the last thing that binds the community together.
    I remember when the Post Office shop closed in my village (I live in the highest village in Wales, Bwlchgwyn), although it wasn't because of the government, I don't believe. Anyway, as anybody who comes from a rural area will tell you, the public transport is usually appauling and infrequent and expensive and this will cause problems for people who have to commute to their local town (sometimes it's miles away) just to post a parcel.

    There was this old gentleman in my village who used to have to go to Coedpoeth (the next village) to get to the post office and he used to walk (maybe he couldn't afford the transport?). He'd leave in the afternoon and bring a torch when it was winter for when he returned.

    I think that the elderly are going to be hit by this worse than any other group. A lot of them are on only basic pensions anyway and won't be able to always afford the bus to go shopping, especially the ones who find walking and carrying bags difficult. During the winter a lot of elderly people (and many family households) face fuel poverty... That is they pay more than 10% of their income on keeping the temperature in their house adequetly warm (around 21 degrees celcius). I mean if you're spending so much on keeping yourself warm and fed, how can you afford an extra two pounds for a bus?

    This will also affect low income families who are struggling already...
    Thirdly, the BBC now refuses to sell TV Licenses through the Post Office, forcing people to pay the thieving BBC tax through a direct debit system that means the BBC gets to have its cake and eat it.
    Does that mean you could get a license paying around a tenner a month than just all in one go? Maybe that'd be better for us students at least...

    I still don't understand why the BBC are refusing to sell TV licenses in the Post Office.

    And by the way, not all banks are that unethical, think of Triodos and the Co-op. :)
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    And by the way, not all banks are that unethical, think of Triodos and the Co-op. :)

    The Co-Op stole £900 in illegal charges from us over the last four years...

    All the Co-Op's ethical code means is that they don't take business from, or invest in, Christian nutjobs and arms firms.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    you'll be printing stamps off the internet anyway soon.
    ooo that would be good!
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    .
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