Jill Grieve (London, The Countryside Alliance): Wherever you stand on the political spectrum, it is likely that you see the benefits of nurturing vibrant communities in the UK. The Countryside Alliance's Chairman, Kate Hoey MP, summed it up perfectly when she said, "community has no political colour". Gordon Brown is committed to devolution, David Cameron is keen on the Sustainable Communities Bill - therefore both are keen that local communities are empowered and can have a say in the way they are run, freer of Westminster than they have been in centuries.
Then why, in such a climate of community laissez faire, is our Post Office network cowering as an axe is swung over its head, with 2,500 of its 16,000 branches destined for the chop? Contradiction anyone?
The first 180 were earmarked in early October, with more to be announced in the coming months. The delicious irony is that the Countryside Alliance has already been thwarted in its campaign to get communities involved in the consultations that precede closure: the postal strike has ensured that our "Love your Post Office" publicity packs are still in our London office with no means of distribution.
The Government argues that the network is unsustainable because of a lack of economic viability. Well, yes, that will happen when the Government removes hundreds of millions of pounds of business from the network (where would you go for your TV licence? Not the Post Office anymore). Government can help with the economics, it is simply not prepared to do so.
The economics are, of course, only one part of the argument. The social impact of closures will be felt deeply across the UK. Post Offices are the heart and soul of many of our rural communities, providing the social interaction of gossip, help, advice, sympathy, celebration and, most importantly a focal point for the community.
The Countryside Alliance has for the last three years run the Best Rural Retailer competition (nominations still being accepted!). It is a nationwide celebration of communities through the people who hold them together, and hundreds of inspiring stories about sub-postmasters and their efforts on behalf of their communities have come to light. If a Post Office is to be thought of merely an economic terms, why on earth would you run a free prescription service for the elderly, why would you put hanging baskets in the bus shelter in summer, why would you give free computer lessons to local kids, why would you get up at 4.30am to collect local produce from the farm shop up the road and why would you keep an eye out for the elderly in the community so that you notice if they don't come in and can raise the alarm if they have had an accident? You wouldn't. Because communities are about people, and no group understands that better than our sub-postmasters.
We will continue to make this point again and again: the Post Office is the heart of the community and ways must be found to save them. If communities are as important as our political masters say, they will back our efforts and rethink their plans. Communities, not dormitories, are how we see the countryside's future.
