Harriett Baldwin, Conservative Parliamentary Candidate for West Worcestershire has today welcomed a new pledge by the Conservative Party that it would keep the Post Office Card Account with Royal Mail. The House of Commons Business and Enterprise Committee today (Monday) releases a report on the subject and MPs will also debate a motion on the future of the card account in the Commons today.
Writing on the Telegraph's website on Friday 7th November, Alan Duncan MP said, "The Post Office Card Account is the lifeline keeping what is left of our post office network alive.
"If the Government pulls the plug and sends POCA business elsewhere, the whole network will be plunged into unmanageable chaos.
"Gordon Brown talks of being a friend to small firms, but it looks like his Government is prepared to drive a stake through the heart of Britain's most iconic form of small business.
"If he wants to see any future for post offices in Britain, he must award the POCA contract to Post Office Limited."
Harriett Baldwin said: "I am very worried that the government may award the Post Office Card Account contract to another company, instead of Royal Mail. After our recent struggle against the closure of four Post Offices in West Worcestershire, I know what a disaster this would be, particularly in rural parts of Worcestershire where there is no bank for miles."