All posts in the topic Post Office closures, who really is to blame - Mayor has the answer (Short link)
Summary
- There are 10 posts — by 5 authors — in this topic.
- Latest post made by Mike Law at Jun 29 16:35 UTC
If you check out the following website: www.docklands24.co.uk and click on the following story "PO row takes new twist" you will discover that Sarah Ruiz and I were responsible for the closure of the post office in Britannia Village - or so our Mayor would have it. This really is news to me: I was totally unaware that Sarah and I had any influence with regard to which post offices would close or remain open. Wales states that we didn't listen to local people, that's interesting when you consider that, until late last year, I was his lead member on the local community forum - I was his original choice for the post and was not replaced, I resigned. I resigned because there was no communication between the Mayor and myself; he refused to meet with me to discuss local concerns. Wales seems to be re-inventing history; I notice that he said nothing about East Ham MP Stephen Timms' stand on this issue and his voting record. In February 2004 Timms, then Communications Minister said "The Post Office has to adapt to changing customer demands" when asked about post office closures. Read the following if you want to know more: http://www.dti.gov.uk/ministers/speeches/timms160603.html http://www.dti.gov.uk/ministers/speeches/timms030403.html But let's assume that Wales is right and that I am to blame. That must mean that all the other councillors who have had post offices closed in their wards are responsible for those closures. Are you thinking of voting for you Labour candidates in the May 4th election? If you are, and they are sitting councillors, it's just as well that you now know that the Mayor thinks they are useless... Phew, you could have wasted your votes. And, if Wales is right, it doesn't say much about his judgement when it comes to promoting members to the myriad of portfolios he has on offer. After all, I was in the post for over 3 years, if I was as bad as he claims, he didn't seem to notice. The truth is, Wales receives the same notices all other members of the council receive with regard to post office closures. He gives off the air of a mayor who has influence; why didn't he use that influence to stop ALL the post office closures across the borough. There are some in public life who, through their conduct, become giants who deserve the respect of all. Our Mayor wallows among the myxomycetes (look it up) at the very bottom of the barrel of politics.
I am as shocked as Mike to read that yet again the Mayor wishes to re write
history in order to cover up his own shortcomings.
I well remeber the fight to save not just the post office at Brittania
Village but also the post offices across the Borough. How dare the Mayor
suggest that Mike and I did nothing - I wasn't aware that he or his New
Labour friends did much - many would not even know where Brittania Village
was.
There was a huge campaign to save the post offices - but sadly to no avail,
but it was not without trying.
At the time I was on the West Silvertown Foundation and this Trust put
forward a very detailed argument. In fact one of the Mayors own staff had to
ask Mike and I for information for the Councils submission.
I suggest that the least we should expect of a Mayor - from whatever Party -
is honesty. Hardly a quality the present incumbant has.
Michael and Sarah.
Come on now are you surprised, your esteemed mayor
can do no wrong. Have you cleared your posting with Mr? Lock ??.
I and Others are still trying to find 300,000 pound which has vanished, that
the mayor does not want to talk about.
Raymond Savory
Sarah, Mike and all
I am shocked that people experienced in politics should be shocked that
politicians rewrite history if they can. It is normal practice.
The only exception of which I am aware was my ancestor, William the
Conqueror, who surely must have been recording the truth when he noted
how grateful the Saxons were for the good government brought by the
Normans in 1066;-( The unanimous enthusiasm of Iraqis, first for Saddam
and later for Dubya, is very similar.
Historically, the worst revisionists have been believers, in either
religious or political creeds. The many accounts of the actions of the
Council of Nicaea (325 AD) rewrite the history of a meeting that is
reputed to have rewritten the Christian Bible. There are plenty of
conflicting accounts of how Khrushchev revised the revisions of history
promulgated by Stalin. As for Hollywood's portrayal of history .....
Please remain sceptical and do not let ideologues pull the wool over
your eyes.
Yrs ever doubtfully,
An update:
Found an old copy of the Newham Mag (31st Jan 2004, issue 41) and therein, on
the Mayor's "My view" page, good old Sir Robin is banging on about the then
proposed closure of the Britannia Village post office. Yet at the meeting in
Britannia Village in April of this year (organised by the Labour Party as part
of its local election campaign)he claimed that he knew nothing about the
closure and that was because neither Sarah Ruiz or I had informed him.
In the great scheme of things his selective memory on this particular issue is
a trite thing; and the whole thing can be passed off as cheap electioneering.
But, it does give us some insight with regard to the very measure of the man
who is our Mayor.
I note that the Evening Standard reported that 169 post offices are to be
closed across London and a fistful of those that are to be closed are in
Newham; London Tonight did a package covering the story and they interviewed
users of an East Ham post office set to close.
No doubt the Mayor will blame Sarah and I for these closures because we are
members of SPECTRE or some other such evil organisation.
However, one wonders what happened to all his petitioning for the post offices
to remain open... Maybe he should have organised a fun day!
Now, this is interesting: http://www.newham.gov.uk/News/Mayorsstatementonpostofficeclosurethreats.htm I have a suggestion; Why doesn't the Mayor look into the possibility of the Council running post office branches in those buildings that will be redundant as a result of the move to Building 1000. The Council must own several commercial properties which are currently not in use (I feel a FOIA request forming), maybe some of these could be used to open a post office service - even if they are only open for a couple of days a week; maybe service centres could offer post office services! Money much better spent than on Fun Days!
It appears Essex Council has come up with a solution to the post office closure dilemma: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2008/03/08/npost208.xml Interestingly, Essex's £50,000 plus earners cost each local council tax payer just £26.64 p.a.; as stated in a previous posting Newham's £50,000 plus earners cost each Newham resident £89.90 p.a. Could be that Essex residents are getting a better return for their investment in blue-sky thinkers. No doubt there is one among the Mayor's many Advisors who has written somewhere in his or her portfolio some vague wording that might prompt him or her to assume responsibility for looking into the situation on behalf of Newham's residents and give this problem some thought. Who knows, maybe he or she will come up with a plan very much like that which is being adopted by Essex. I'd like to post an early "well done" for that portfolio holder come the day he or she actually puts forward a cogent solution to the problem of post office closures.
The simple answer, is to put the post office into a shop or supermarket where
it will be conveinient for everyone and probably cost less to run.
The helter-skelter ride that is Masterman Road Post Office: http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/search/story.aspx?brand=RECOnline&category=NewsNewham&itemid=WeED12%20Mar%202008%2009:56:42:857&tBrand=RECOnline&tCategory=search [MP hears anger at post office protest- 12/03/2008] http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/search/story.aspx?brand=RECOnline&category=NewsNewham&itemid=WeED09%20Apr%202008%2008:56:36:053&tBrand=RECOnline&tCategory=search [Timms in pleas to save post branches - 09/04/2008] http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/search/story.aspx?brand=RECOnline&category=MPsNotebook&itemid=WeED18%20Apr%202008%2016:11:18:967&tBrand=RECOnline&tCategory=search [Spelling out facts on post office plans- 18/04/2008] http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/search/story.aspx?brand=RECOnline&category=NewsNewham&itemid=WeED07%20May%202008%2010:59:27:033&tBrand=RECOnline&tCategory=search [Joy for community as a sub-post office is saved - 07/05/2008] http://www.newhamrecorder.co.uk/search/story.aspx?brand=RECOnline&category=NewsNewham&itemid=WeED25%20Jun%202008%2009:45:37:040&tBrand=RECOnline&tCategory=search [Post office will close after all- 25/06/2008] I like Timms little footnote in his 18/04/2008 article: "The arrival of Starbucks is the best news on East Ham High Street for years! I hope we will see more, good new stores arriving over the coming months" Well, not if it's anything to do with Post Offices and he's on-board!!!