Cllr Iain Lindley’s Diary

Here’s what Langworthy Labour Councillor John Warmisham had to say to the Advertiser about the decision to close Langworthy Road Post Office:

We are very disappointed at the outcome of the consultation. As a Langworthy ward councillor who had meetings with the senior executives of the Post Office to explain the need for the post office in that area, I feel [that] the community of Langworthy have not been listened to or taken seriously by the Post Office

The only problem is that this is utter nonsense – and I’m sure Councillor Warmisham knows this. The Post Office have little choice in the matter. They have been told by the Government to close 2500 Post Offices nationally, and that will inevitably mean that some Post Offices in Salford get hit. The Government have applied a blunt instrument with no regard to the effect on local communities. The only way to stop the Post Offices closures in Salford is to get the Labour Government to perform a u-turn on the national closure programme – and that is something that our Labour Council and Labour MPs have resolutely refused to do.

We cannot seriously expet that the Post Office will close Post Offices in all our neighbouring boroughs and leave Salford unscathed. Bolton, Bury and Manchester have all been hit equally hard, and their local Councillors are making the same representations to the Post Office.

It is the Labour Government who are not listening to the communities in Langworthy, Adelphi and Patricroft.